Arc 2: 06 Blood Oath
by Macx
Summary: When Shanygn is shot in a mall it not only nearly kills Rodimus as well, it gives him a personal view into his partner's haunted past as well.


**Blood Oath**   
by Birgit Staebler

The first class cabin was silent and dark, only the reading lights shedding some brightness in the interior. It was a night flight, with most of the passengers catching a nap before their work demanded their full attention once they touched down. In one of the spacious first class seats sat a woman in her mid-thirties, her blonde hair bound into a tight and elegant knot, dressed in a non-descript business suit. She was staring out of the small window, watching her reflection. Outside everything was dark, though she could make out the first rays of weak light crawling over the horizon. Soon they'd pass the barrier between day and night and the plane would be only a few hundred miles from its destination, O'Hare airport, Chicago.   
The modern passenger plane had settled into a comfortable cruising altitude, dinner had been served a long time ago, and the flight attendants were now walking along the aisles, offering reading materials, juices, video to watch. The woman ignored them, lost in her own thoughts. One of the flight attendants, carrying flight folders, came up to her seat. "Would you like to watch a movie, Mrs. Hunt?"   
Her smile was cool, professional.   
Alicia Hunt summoned up a smile herself which was as cold and professional as that of the flight attendant.   
"No, thank you," she declined the offer, already turning away again.   
The attendant remained. "Would you consider documentaries?" she inquired, her voice a bit more persistent to the trained ear.   
Alicia turned back to look at her, her blue eyes fixed on her still perfectly charming face. The flight attendant leaned closer, taking an unlabeled video tape out of the small box she was carrying like a tray of goods.   
"This one, perhaps?" she asked and held the tape out to her.   
Alicia didn't say a word, her mind torn between cheering and wondering when he had decided to side with her, supply her with the information she wanted. The flight attendant took her reaction as a positive answer and passed a sensor pen over the small label on the side of the tape. She then handed it to Alicia, who took it gingerly, like it was a bomb going off any second.   
She watched the attendant move on in the aisle, asking the other passengers who were awake if they wanted a movie or magazine.   
Alicia popped the cassette into the video tape player built into the armrest. Then she raised the personal view screen. She angled the screen away from the cabin, so that no one could see anything, then slid the headphones over her ears. She pushed the 'play' button.   
"I thought long and hard about the little deal you want to make," a male voice said, but there was no picture appearing on the screen. "Your chances of succeeding are minimal, but they are not non-existent." She smiled coldly. "I'm not siding with you, Alicia, I'm simply supplying you with the information you want and the gear to you asked for. Nothing more. If this fails, there will be no connections."   
A file opened on the screen and Alicia scanned over the contents.   
"Your gear will be located at this place for exactly 14 hours after you received this message. After that, the deal is over. Payment on the usual account."   
With that the tape stopped and Alicia took off the ear phone. She lit up a cigarette and smiled around the blue smoke rising to the cabin ceiling. It had begun.   
The first rays of light shot over the horizon, touching the white plane.

* * *

The mall was rather empty at this time of the day, but Shanygn enjoyed it this way. It gave her more room to breathe and more time to look around for something interesting. She knew she needed some clothes, especially a dress for the birthday party. She couldn't show up in her exo-suit and since she never had many clothes beside the silken exo-skeleton jumpsuit and her armor, she had to shop for some. Shanygn had volunteered to help with the birthday party Carly was planning for her husband and she would go over to the Witwickys' place this afternoon to see how far Carly's plans had grown. The party would be small, but it would also be special.   
Kimberly Moya-Witwicky, wife of Daniel Witwicky, had joined Shanygn for her shopping trip. She and Daniel had returned from Nebulos to Earth over a year ago. The Nebulans were still panicky over the war and wouldn't let anyone stay on their planet. All trades were handled on space stations outside their space and the small planet had started to isolate itself more and more. It was a sad development, but, looking back at Nebulous history, a very predictable one.   
"Looks good on you," Kim now remarked and smiled at Shanygn, who looked into the mirror with a vague frown.   
"You think so?" she asked, not quite ready to believe it. Shanygn wasn't used to wearing dresses or anything female at all.   
"Yes! Really!"   
The sales woman kept in the back, unsure what to do. Both women had stormed into the store, aiming directly for the dresses, and one was clearly not human, though Shanygn could pass for a human if you didn't look too closely.   
"Uhm...."   
Kimberly sighed. "Trust yourself, Shan! It looks fabulous!"   
Shanygn still looked indecisive. "I want to have a further look around," she then decided. "We'll come back here later, okay?"   
Kim shrugged. "Okay." She grinned at her friend. "As much as you are like any human woman when it comes to surfing through the mall, you are not as shopping crazy as most of them."   
Shanygn chuckled. "Tell that to Roddy!"   
"Men!" Kimberly snorted. "He has no idea what this is all about."   
The both left the store, grinning and chuckling. The mall had started to fill with more people now and it was getting busy.   
"How about a quick stop at the food court," Kim asked. "I'm starving!"   
"We had a large breakfast!" Shanygn laughed. "You are burning food faster than anyone I know. Well, Nicholas come close....."   
Kimberly laughed and they started to walk toward the food court in the basement. If they were lucky they'd be able to get in and out without getting trampled in the noon food rush.   
Grinning, Kimberly led the way.

*

No one stopped her; no one really saw her. She looked like every other shopper or visitor of the mall, dressed non-descript and carrying only a small backpack. Stopping at a large fountain set up in the ground level shopping area, she looked around and discovered whom she was looking for. She smiled. It was all so easy. The information had been correct, the shadow keeping track of her target relaying exactly what she had wanted to know; nothing more, nothing less.   
The woman watched her target move toward the stairs toward the food court and she knew she either had to act now or risk a longer observation. But staying here for much longer might trigger a memory in one of the other shoppers if they were questioned about the soon-to-happen events later. She decided to act now.   
Moving gracefully through the larger getting crowd she went for the elevators not far away and caught one going up, which was occupied by a man in a wheelchair and two kids. She ignored them and got out on the second floor. The second floor was partly used for offices and rather empty. She looked down again and saw her target stop at a display close to the stairs. Her friend smiled and they exchanged something, then laughed.   
She opened her small backpack and took out what looked like a camera. There were a lot of tourists at malls taking pictures of the inside of the building, so this was normal. She opened the lens and aimed at the target. She pushed a small button and a soft whirring noise could be heard, as if the auto focus was at work. The picture of the target came into focus.   
She pushed the second button.   
There was a 'click' of a picture being taken, but there was neither a film in the camera, nor was it a camera.   
The woman on the second floor of the mall smiled as she saw the result of her muffled 'shot' and stowed the camera away. Screams could be heard from the ground level, but she ignored them, walking away toward the exit. No one stopped her; no one saw her.

*

Shanygn was hit right in the chest, the bullet going through the silky material of the exo-skeleton and into her body. Her eyes went wide for a second and she stared at her chest in disbelief; disbelief at the red stain suddenly growing there. Then she collapsed without a sound.   
Kimberly gave a cry of surprise and shock, torn between jumping for cover and helping her friend. She dropped her shopping bags and went down to the floor, just like all the other shoppers in the mall. There were cries of panic and confusion ringing through the mall, but Kimber ignored everything. Her eyes were transfixed on the large blood stain on Shanygn's blouse.   
"Get a doctor over here!" she finally yelled, trying to get the panic out of her voice, but she couldn't. "Damnit, I need help! She's been shot!"   
Shanygn's face was pale and sweat was starting to form on her forehead, and her eyes were blurred. She stared at Kimberly in non–comprehension. More panic ignited inside the young woman, but someone approached and knelt down beside her. He was blond, maybe in his late twenties and holding a handy in his left hand while reaching for Shanygn's neck with the other, searching for a pulse. Kimber was trembling with shock and still spreading panic. Shanygn had been shot. She was bleeding -- maybe dying.   
"I'm a paramedic," the man said calmly, lowering the handy, still searching for a pulse. "I called an ambulance."   
Kim found the smile calming, but not calming enough. "Is she....."   
He shook his head. "No. I have a pulse, though a weak one. Are you a friend?"   
She nodded.   
"She's not human, right?"   
Kim licked her dry lips. It was obvious that Shanygn was not human. The blue hair might not be a hint, but the faint blue shine to her skin was. "Yes," she finally whispered.   
Security officers were popping up like out of nowhere and started asking what had happened, some spreading out already to search for the shooter, who had already gone undercover in the confusion. Others warded off curious spectators.   
The paramedic, of who Kim didn't even know the name, carefully inspected the wound in the meantime, trying to staunch the blood flow. Shanygn winced and a small moan escaped her lips. Kim bit her lip as she saw how the wet stain was getting larger by the minute. Shanygn's face was as white as chalk, her usual light blue taint only visible if you looked closely.   
"We have to stop the flow of blood," the paramedic said calmly.   
He applied more pressure and Shanygn gasped, then her body went limp.   
"Shanygn?!" Kimber cried in panic.   
"Pulse's still there. She fell unconscious," her helper said, voice still calm.   
The ambulance arrived minutes later, the two paramedics riding with it acting immediately. One nodded at the man who had helped Kim, smiling.   
"Funny meeting you here," he said.   
"It was my day off."   
The paramedic on duty snorted. "Yeah."   
As they carried the unconscious Shanygn to the ambulance, her helper laid an arm around Kimberly's shoulders. "C'mon, let's get you to the hospital as well."   
"I've to...call the others," Kim muttered, eyes displaying shock. "They have to know."   
"We can call from the hospital."   
She nodded, feeling like in dream.

* * *

Rodimus was on his way back to his office when it happened. He was on the way to a scheduled conference with Cyclonus, Soundwave, Smokescreen and Kup. They needed to discuss the rising tension among the Cybertronians. After what had happened to the abducted Cybertronians and, later, to Archer, many were thirsting for revenge. They wanted to go out and revenge their comrades. Ralyk had warned them against retaliating now because even if the Tji seemed few, they were in fact very many and quite able to wipe the floor with the allied fleet. The only reason why they hadn't attacked yet, trying to overrun Cybertron, was that they had yet to determine the strength and ability of their enemy. The Sentinels and Interfaced Seekers were an unknown variable, as was Ralyk's presence on Cybertron.   
The young second was just passing Starscream and Riverdance, who were coming out of another room. First there was a strange tingling along his Interface circuits, then a searing pain that let him stiffen, his eyes suddenly glowing brightly, and then the blackness hit. Rodimus screamed in agony, clutching his chest, his Matrix -- now Interface -- circuits exploding into pain, glowing and sizzling. He went to his knees, his world shrinking down to a very small part, a black part inside of him, which was steadily growing.   
Someone grabbed his arm, but he didn't respond, and neither to the voice ringing urgently in his audio receptors. All he was focused on was a small spark in the blackness, flickering and dying, then coming back to life again.   
[SHANYGN!]   
The mental scream echoed through the ever larger growing void and reached the little spark, which flickered again. Rodimus reached out and enveloped it with his own life force, trying to keep it alive.   
[No! Don't go! Shan, please! Don't!]   
He felt her close to him, so close, but leaving ...... Dying. Rodimus concentrated on her with everything he had, pouring life force into the spark, keeping it here, with him. The world outside ceased to exist for him.

*

Ralyk felt the scream echo through the vast space of itself and instinctively recoiled from it at first. It had come in through one of the few personal links to its Chosen and it had arrived with such force that it doubted that the scream had been a vocal one. It had been purely by mind link.   
The ancient entity identified the link and felt dread rise inside itself, which was a rare occasion. This was bad...... very bad. Something had hit one of the Chosen and rendered him inactive, taking him almost completely off-line and sending him into a kind of coma. Ralyk went along the personal line and groaned as he discovered what had happened.

*

Firefall didn't know what it was, but it hit her like a lightning bolt and she blinked. Gaelon curled and uncurled, shuddering once. The Veneran was as confused as she was.   
"What happened?" she asked.   
Gaelon hesitated. ::Rodimus:: she then said.   
"Something happened to him?" Firefall felt dread and fear.   
Gaelon hesitated again. ::I'm not sure.....::   
"Then guess!"   
::Something happened to the link::   
Firefall groaned softly. "Oh, no....."

*

Optimus was in a meeting with Megatron, discussing and planning how to handle their latest discovery: an old Decepticon base with so many traps and even more precious data and other stuff stored behind the traps that they had to really make an effort to secure it. Megatron was frowning over what the exploration team had sent back and what the Decepticons sent out to try and break the trap codes had reported back. It was one of those ancient, very secure bases where the codes changed on their own at intervals. Currently they were trying to find the correct access code for the password system and then determine what the password was now. They had no idea when the base had been abandoned and what password had been the last one to be used at that time. Later on he also had to meet with Rodimus because his second was handling the problems with the restless warriors demanding revenge. He wanted to know how he had fared.   
A high scream echoed through his mind and Optimus rocked back in his chair like hit in the face. His optics widened and he gasped. One hand clutched his chest plate. Megatron stared at him in complete surprise, then reacted just fast enough to keep his former enemy from keeling over and landing on the floor. Optimus gave a groan of suppressed pain, his optics blue hot orbs, glowing with an intensity that told the Decepticon leader just what he was going through.   
"Optimus?" he asked, noting with his own amusement that he was truly worried about the other.   
"Primus!" Optimus whispered in a hoarse voice laced with deep pain. "The Matrix circuits...." He doubled over again, wracked by tremors, unable to continue.   
Megatron was deeply worried now. If it concerned the Matrix circuits it was serious. Finally Prime quieted down a bit, still trembling, but more in control of himself than before.   
"What happened, Prime?" Megatron asked.   
"I .... this pain .... it came through the Matrix...." Optimus stopped, optics wide in horror. "Rodimus!"   
"Come again?"   
"It came from him!"   
Megatron's frown deepened. "But he doesn't have the Matrix," he began.   
Optimus shook his head impatiently, already trying to get up, which was quite difficult since his limbs didn't seem to be inclined to follow his commands. "We are connected through the Matrix," he explained briefly. "Whatever comes through the Matrix link, I can feel it. Usually it never reaches the conscious level at all...... But extreme pain is one of those emotions I do consciously feel..... Oh, no...."   
"What?" Megatron asked, feeling impatient now himself.   
"Rodimus' circuits were later claimed by his Interface.... which means this has something to do with the Interface itself -- and Shanygn!"   
Megatron knew enough and had learned more in his time among the Autobots and as their ally to understand Interfacing to the same degree every non-Interfaced robot could ever hope to comprehend it. And he knew that this was very serious if it washed over the Matrix circuits and toward the Matrix bearer. Optimus was already on his way out of the room, running down the corridor. Megatron followed quickly, making a little note to ask for further information about this mysterious link later. If both Primes were connected, this opened up a whole new set of problems and advantages.

* * *

Dr. Mark Harris had been called in for an emergency operation on a shooting victim and he had responded immediately. As he walked into the preparation room he glanced, as usual, over to the lit-up screen for the x-rays. He would have time to get a closer look at everything later on, but he always wanted to have a sneak preview while preparing. He stopped as he saw the x-ray.   
"What the hell is that?" he asked, perplexed.   
The nurse assisting him sighed. "It's what came out after the emergency x-ray."   
Harris stared at the picture. It showed a human chest, the ribcage clearly visible. He could see the bullet lodged close to the heart after it had shattered a rib, but the other stuff....   
"A glitch in the x-ray machine?" he hazarded.   
The nurse shook her head. "No. A second set came out looking like this one."   
"There are metal implants in her body," he whispered, shaking his head.   
"Dr. McClanagh took another set of complete body x-rays," the nurse told him while hanging up the mentioned x-rays and Harris felt his mouth drop open in shock.   
"Hot damn!" was all he managed.   
A net of wires went through the body of his patient. There were knots of metal here or there and the spine seemed to be like a central system for not only organic, but also these inorganic nerves. He had never seen anything like this before, at least not in real life. He had heard about it in seminars, had read papers, had talked to colleagues who implanted exo-skeletons, but no one had ever tried to implant such a large neural net.....   
"How is she right now?"   
"As stable as we could get her. Pulse is weak, breathing too shallow," the nurse reported.   
"Is her friend still here?"   
"She is. Do you want to talk to her?"   
Harris nodded. "Definitely! I can't go in with all this stuff running through her!"

* * *

Optimus stormed into med bay, ignoring everything and everyone, walking straight for the treatment room. He stopped as he saw the motionless body of his second-in-command lying on one table, and Riverdance leaning against a wall, looking inconspicuous and like she simply belonged here. She had brought Rodimus here. First Aid was reading off some numbers and letters from a screen. When he became aware of Optimus, he straightened and turned.   
"It doesn't look good," he said softly as he stepped to his leader.   
"What happened?"   
"I don't know. Riverdance brought him in and she said he broke down without a reason. All I can say is that his life force is weak and that he won't respond to any outside stimuli."   
"I know what happened," someone said and they discovered Skywolf stepping into the room. The old Sentinel looked deeply shocked. "We just got a call from Kimberly. Shanygn was shot at the mall and is currently at the local hospital. Looks very serious. Kyle is already on the way."   
Optimus felt like cursing out aloud. "Who did it?" he asked instead.   
"No idea. They didn't catch the shooter."   
Optimus looked at his young second, feeling something tear inside of him. If it had hit Rodimus that hard ..... it was indeed very serious.   
"Can we get him out of it?" he asked softly.   
Skywolf looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure. I guess he went right for Shanygn when she was struck by the bullet and if I'm not completely off, he's trying to hold her. I wouldn't advise separating them now; it might have catastrophic results."   
"What if she dies?" Optimus wanted to know, his voice calm and composed.   
Skywolf sighed. "Difficult.... The worst case scenario would be, uhm, Archer."   
Optimus flinched and First Aid looked shocked. "No...." the Autobot leader whispered.   
Skywolf shared his pain. "We can never tell how it affects the other partner and some years ago I would have said Rodimus will go on like always, mourning the loss, but otherwise fine. But both of them proved to be much closer than we initially thought and they are growing ever closer. Rodimus is no Sentinel, but he is approaching 100% Interfacing."   
Optimus nodded. He knew that and he approved of it. It was one of the best things ever happening to Hot Rod and later Rodimus Prime.   
"Keep me informed," he whispered.

* * *

Dr. Kyle Scott knew all there was to know about Shanygn's implanted skeleton of wires and sensors -- he had helped implant it -- and he knew it might be vital for her if he told Dr. Harris everything there was to know. Both doctors were currently preparing for the operation. Kyle had come in five minutes ago and Harris had all but dragged him into the OP. Harris didn't dare go in and remove the bullet alone, afraid of destroying more than he did good, but Kyle also knew that the older man would have risked it if no one would have come forward with any idea of what he had here.   
"An implanted exo-skeleton substituting for the nervous system," Harris muttered and shook his head in disbelief. "Just hearing about her handicap is enough to give me a headache!"   
Kyle smiled under his surgeon's mask. "I know."   
"At least with the implanted skeleton we don't have a major problem while she's out of the suit. But her alien physiology might prove a problem. She lost a lot of blood and we are using neutral plasma to keep her stable, but she needs a transfusion." Harris looked questioningly at his colleague.   
"I already got that underway," Kyle replied. "We have blood of each of our alien friends at Autobot city. A friend of mine is getting it here." Another smile wrinkled the mask a bit. "I hope she doesn't cause a ruckus. She's alien as well."   
Harris shrugged, then frowned. "How could you call her when you were with me all the time? You couldn't possibly know about the full extent of the injury until you came here!"   
Kyle sighed. "There is a lot more I have explain to you when we are done, but right now, let's worry about Shanygn."   
Harris accepted this and both walked into the OP.

* * *

The passenger shuttle touched down at the small port on Cybertron, far away from South Port, but not inaccessibly far away. The passengers disembarked and went either to the near-by railway or were already expected by friends, co-workers or guides. The woman in the non-descript clothes looked around briefly, smiled, then went over to the railway station. She studied the map in the station for a time, memorized it and then bought a ticket to South Port, which was not only a command base, but also home of the main railway station on the South continent of Cybertron. Hundreds filed through there every day, though most of them were Autobots. Dressed up as a normal worker, the woman would not be suspicious.

* * *

Ath'antheia, Tji leader, Supreme Commander of an ever-growing army of warriors and ships, stood at the large window giving him a clear sight of the severely damaged part of the fortress. Not far away from where Scorponok floated in space, another fortress was build. Unlike Scorponok, the second ship would not be able to transform, but it would be equally strong and shielded. Many more attack fighters were constructed in the bowls of the fortress. The suicide run of the Sentinel had thrown them back in their flight plans and Ath'antheia had not only lost valuable time, but also five of his kind, and his second-in-command. Anrhenjx had survived the explosion of the robot, but he had not survived the ensuing catastrophic secondary explosions all aboard Scorponok. Ath'antheia had lost his own shell body and nearly his life, but he had recuperated and now possessed a new body.   
Someone approached and he discovered Katalumera, who had taken in the empty position as second-in-command. She was very capable, but she wasn't Anrhenjx, whose experience Ath'antheia had valued, even though he had rarely shown it.   
"Repairs are proceeding," the Tji reported. "And construction of the second fortress are running more smoothly now that we finished with the main problem of repairing this one."   
Ath'antheia nodded.   
"We also received more body shells, though they are getting rare, especially those we need; the strong, warrior-like ones."   
The Tji leader turned. "Continue with the work." Then he walked off the bridge, deep in thought.   
Katalumera remained behind, very thoughtful. Since the fateful explosion, Ath'antheia had grown more careful, more thoughtful. He no longer thought of the Cybertronians as children who had no grasp as to what was happening to them, who had given them life or who they were facing. He had learned that they were more powerful than he had thought, capable to first denying him the access to a doorway twice and then nearly killing him. Then again, the robot had been suicidal to begin with. He had just lost his partner, an Interface, and his mind had been on overload.   
She turned back to her work. They all had a lot up ahead of them. Though their 'absence' from battles or fights might lead the Cybertronians to believe they had given up and relax, Katalumera also knew that it might give them the time to strengthen their defenses.   
The Tji couldn't allow that. The experiment had to be terminated.

* * *

The hospital waiting room was as uncomfortable to Kimber's eyes as it could possibly be. The creme colored walls and the beige and light brown seats did nothing to soothe her strained nerves. On the contrary. She felt even more agitated. There were some magazines and newspapers on the table, but she hadn't even spared them a closer look. Her mind was fixed on Shanygn, who had been wheeled to emergency surgery right after they had arrived with the ambulance. Kimberly had given the doctors Shanygn's name and address. Everything had been written down and she had been questioned for relatives or close family in the city. Kim still shook her head about the question. Shanygn was an alien to this planet! They could see that! She had to give a negative answer to every question. The nurse at reception had then asked her to sign a form, which would give the doctors the legal right to perform surgery, though they were already at it. They just needed the confirmation for eventual later files. Kimber had signed the form, noting that she was now the 'next of kin' for Shanygn.   
There room was mercifully empty of people, though five minutes after she had entered, the door had opened and a man had peeked in. He had looked at Kim, frowning for a second, then, as Kim didn't seem to be the one he had been looking for, he had disappeared again.   
After ten minutes of doing nothing but sit and wait, Kimber started to pace the waiting room, stopping in front of the window overlooking the parking lot and the emergency entrance. An ambulance was just pulling up under the small roof hiding the entrance from prying eyes. Her reflection in the window showed her her blouse, which had been one of the very expensive ones; a gift from her husband. Now it was stained with blood. Shanygn's blood. Her stomach wanted to lurge again. She had called Autobot City after they had arrived here and she knew someone was already on his or her way here, most likely Kyle, who would be the most qualified person to handle this. Kimberly lost herself in watching the world outside grow dark as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.   
Jill visited her, they talked briefly, then the white-haired woman had to leave again. Nicholas came in as well and he stayed, a silent support. Kim knew Nicholas liked Shanygn a lot, even though she was not yet sure how deep this feeling went. He was very worried about her now and she knew that was only natural. Everyone was worried. Nicholas stayed with her and she wondered if Tornado was on Earth or not. The Seekers were mostly on Mernan now, but since Tornado belonged to the Council he frequented Earth a lot.   
Time went by. People came and went in the room, some eyeing them curiously, but never talking. A couple entered and talked in hushed voices about their child, which had been involved in a road accident with a bike. They were called by a nurse after about half an hour of waiting. Then Kimber and Nicholas were alone again.   
"You should go and change," Nicholas said after some time.   
Kimber looked up, then at her blouse, grimacing slightly. "Oh, I forgot about that completely."   
"You go and change, I'll stay," Nicholas promised.   
Kimber nodded and left the waiting room. Nicholas was alone and he tried to take his mind off Shanygn's serious condition by leafing through the magazine. He stopped doing so after a while. He couldn't concentrate on anything else.   
More time passed.   
"Are you waiting for news on a friend?"   
The question made him look up from his intense study of the grey floor. An old woman sat at his side, her hair grayish white and pulled back in a bun. Lively blue eyes regarded him curiously, but also with sympathy.   
"Yes," he answered, thinking it would be extremely impolite to ignore her.   
"Family?"   
Nicholas shook his head. "Close friend."   
There was period of silence.   
"My husband has been brought here because he had a heart attack," the old woman then said as if to herself. "They say it is very bad."   
Nick looked at her, searching for words of sympathy, but found none. He had never been good at it anyway. "Oh," was all he managed. "I'm sorry."   
But the woman smiled. "Bert lived a full live. If he dies now, I know he won't die with any regrets, except maybe leaving me behind alone."   
Nicholas licked his dry lips.   
"Your friend," the woman then said, startling him a bit. "What happened?"   
"She was shot," the engineer said slowly.   
There was a slightly shocked expression on her face. "Oh. Are you with the police?"   
"No. It was a sniper attack."   
"I'm sure she will be all right," the woman said with total conviction.   
Nicholas nodded slightly.   
"Do you love her?"   
His head came up, gray eyes startled, his mouth turning dry. The old woman smiled knowingly. Her hand took his, squeezing it.   
"She will be all right. You have to believe in it. If you lose hope, you lose yourself."   
He forced a smile, nodding. She released his hand, patting his arm, and settled back to wait. Nicholas did the same. After some more waiting the door opened again and a nurse entered.   
"Mrs. Wright?"   
The grey-haired woman stood. "Yes?"   
"If you'd please accompany me? Dr. Lang would like to talk to you."   
Nicholas saw how she squared her shoulders, ready to accept the worst. Before she left, Mrs. Wright turned back to him. "Don't lose hope, my friend," she told him once again. Then the door closed after her. Nicholas sat back again and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Ultra Magnus closed the link and leaned back in his chair, sighing.   
The local police had been questioning everyone at the mall, every shop owner, security officer, shopper, sales person, but no one could give a description of the shooter. No one had seen anyone suspicious. Lieutenant Newkirk suspected that the sniper was already out of town and somewhere save, but they were keeping at it.   
Ultra Magnus drummed his fingers on the desk, wishing he had a way to get this investigation along. They had no description, no lead, no nothing. Newkirk was still hoping to get a result from the many surveillance tapes confiscated from the mall security, as well as from what they might find out through the bullet that would be turned over to the police after removal. Until then, all they could do was pray that Shanygn made it and that someone remembered something useful.

* * *

Everything had been where she had ordered it to be. Just like the first time. Her success at eliminating the first target had apparently impressed her source of money and supplies and she had been given enough back-up to succeed with target number two, though this might be a bit more tricky. Her target was large and protected by armor, but it would also be the most important target. Her first hit had been to insure confusion and the removal of one of her targets through another. Rodimus Prime was affected by the dying woman and so he would be in no shape when his time came. He would be weak and confused. But first things first.   
She checked the weapon and smiled. Her mother had developed the prototype of this gun, which could punch through metal and then do the real damage. The moment the bullet penetrated the armor of the target, it exploded and sent millions of sharp shrapnels into the circuits, destroying them. Maybe the target would survive for a short time, but in the end he would die. A cruel smile passed over her lips. Her mother would have appreciated the effect.   
Thinking of her family, the female sniper's face grew dark, twisting with anger and the thought of how she had died. The robots had killed her! First they had imprisoned her, then ruined her life, then killed her. Now they would pay. Those directly involved in her mother's downfall and death would die, the others would be dragged into the all-ensuing chaos that would surely follow the death of three of the main figures in the allied Cybertronians' forces.   
She chuckled slightly. Revenge was such a sweet thing.

* * *

Someone held a cup of coffee under her nose and Kimberly jerked up, blinking. She recognized the paramedic who had helped her. His was smiling, his face creased into a dozen of wrinkles.   
"Thanks," she said and took the cup.   
"No word from your friend?" he asked.   
Kim shook her head and sipped at the coffee. She rubbed her eyes. She had returned some hours ago, spelling Nicholas, who had not heard a thing from the doctors while she had changed her bloodied clothes. She wished Daniel were here, but he was in New York for an important meeting he had been called to on short notice. It concerned the growing problem of Nebulos cutting itself off from other worlds.   
"Thanks for your help back there.... uh .... I don't even know who you are." She smiled sheepishly.   
He laughed softly. "No wonder. We never had time for an introduction. My name's Jayce Harte. And you are?"   
"Kimberly Moya-Witwicky," Kim introduced herself. "Thanks again, Mr. Harte."   
"Hey, no problem. And call my Jayce Everybody does."   
"Okay. Uhm, you've been here all the time?"   
Jayce grinned again. "Oh, no. I drove home to change my clothes and then went to the police since they wanted to question me. Then I came here because I want to know how your friend is doing. Call it natural curiosity. Oh, yes, and my shift starts in an hour anyway."   
Kim smiled.   
"Your friend," Jayce asked hesitantly, "... who is she? I saw someone else come in here, a Dr. Scott, and he and old Harris immediately rushed off."   
Kimberly sat back and sighed again. "It's a long story and ....."   
She was interrupted by someone exiting the elevator. It was Steven Parker. Kim suspected that Midnight was somewhere outside, too large to fit into the human-sized hospital corridors or even through the door. Steve looked worried and slightly pale, and he was dressed in his black overall, which he usually wore when not in battle armor. He was accompanied by Jill McKennan. Jill had been here for a while, spending some waiting room hours with Kimber after she had delivered the needed blood for Shan's operation, then had to go back. Jayce now stared at the alien woman, clearly surprised.   
"Hi, Steve," Kimber greeted her friends. "Hi again, Jill."   
Steve managed a smile; Jill sat down on a chair. "Any word?" he asked.   
"No. Kyle went in several hours ago..... How is Rodimus?"   
Kimberly didn't see the startled expression on Jayce's face, his eyes growing wide as he heard the name.   
"Comatose. He went down the second she did," Steve answered, his voice full of worry. "Skywolf's doing what he can."   
"Oh, no...... Oh, where are my manners! Steve, this is Jayce Harte, the paramedic who helped Shanygn until the ambulance arrived. Jayce, this is Steven Parker."   
The paramedic nodded at the other man, then raised an eyebrow at Kim. "How about you start this long story? I think I'm getting more and more confused by the minute."   
Steve sat down opposite and Kimberly started to explain who Shanygn was, what made her so special and what problems had suddenly arisen. Steve and Jill put in an explanation now and then, while Jayce simply listened in surprise and amazement.

* * *

Ralyk watched the Tji and if it had had a physical form, there would have been a worried frown on its face now. But it wasn't physical, just a cloud-like creature, not pure energy, not physical, but a mix of many different things. One of its countless tentacles, hair-thin, sometimes even thinner, was stretched out toward the position of the enemy, always keeping track of their movement. Ralyk couldn't do more than watch. It wasn't a warrior, it was a protector, and it was doing what it was able to do to protect those under his guard: the children of the Veneran and Tji, the Cybertronians. Cybertron was a fortress now, secured by Ralyk, but all the others were in danger. And it didn't want them all on this planet. Too many had died, too many would still die and Ralyk hated to see them perish, but it couldn't help them. Not all of them.   
Drawing back its tentacle a bit it checked on the personal lines open to the Council members and found all more or less okay, except for Rodimus Prime. Rodimus was a worry he had not wanted to have and everything had happened too sudden for Ralyk to interfere. Now it could only hope that the bond between the young Autobot and his Interface partner didn't tear. If it did..... Ralyk had no idea whether or not it would jump in and help.......   
Something touched it and it was surprised to recognize Sphere. She had learned fast how to use its link to her host space to get in contact with it now and then.   
"Are they moving?" the Key asked now.   
-- Not yet --   
-- But they will --   
-- Soon --   
"They are stronger than before."   
-- Much stronger -- Ralyk agreed.   
"You have to tell the others," Sphere told it. "They have to know."   
-- I will tell them --   
-- When the time is right --   
Sphere sighed. "When the time is right, yeah. I just hope you know when that is because we will need all the time we can get to get ready." With that she withdrew, leaving Ralyk alone with its thoughts.   
And Ralyk watched.

* * *

Skywolf was startled out of his study of the read-outs by the sudden alarm. He whirled around and didn't know whether to be shocked, relieved or confused by the sight he was presented with. His patient, who had been unresponsive for half the day, was suddenly back on line. The Sentinel medic walked over to where Rodimus Prime lay. Rodimus' optics were alive, but his face seemed to be dead, though that wasn't something surprising at all.   
"Rodimus?" Skywolf asked softly.   
Rodimus sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His optics briefly fixed on Skywolf, studying him like he was some kind of alien bug, then he slid off the bed. Skywolf was just quick enough to catch him and prevent him from crashing to the floor.   
"Easy there!" he told the young Autobot.   
Rodimus straightened and tried to detach himself from Skywolf, but he was too weak still. The shock and resulting brief coma had drained him.   
"Rodimus, stay calm!" Skywolf said forcefully.   
Rodimus gave him an empty look and Skywolf shuddered as he recognized this look. It was similar to the one Midnight had held at the time Steve had been fighting for his life, after he had nearly been killed by the Sentinels. And like Midnight Rodimus was oblivious to everything around him. Midnight had been like a zombie, his mind fixed on one specific person: Steve. Rodimus was the same, only peripherally aware of everything around him. Skywolf guided the young robot to one of the chairs and made him sit down. Rodimus responded like a puppet, unresisting, staring at something only he could see.   
"Rodimus?" Skywolf asked, though he knew he most likely wouldn't get a response.   
And there was none. Rodimus stared fixedly at something only he could see and no one else. His optics reflected a mixture of pain, desperation and emptiness.   
Too much like Midnight, Skywolf thought in desperation.   
He walked over to the intercom and contacted Optimus Prime.

* * *

Sparks felt jumpy and tense, but she had no idea why. She was currently sitting outside the South Port complex, her ears turning like little radar dishes and her sharp eyes were searching even the smallest corner for something out of the ordinary. But she found nothing. There were the normal day-to-day activities of Cybertronians, Sentinels, Seekers and humans mingling, going after their business. Nothing that suggested something strange going on. The cat sighed and suddenly discovered Megatron leaving South Port. She knew he was planning to go to Charr today -- the first time since the destruction of the Decepticon base. Optimus had voted against it, but Megatron had simply walked out of the conference, leaving a frustrated Autobot commander behind. There was nothing left on Char but a deep crater and part of a ruin. Whatever he wanted to do on Charr, Sparks intended to come along and find out.   
The cat jumped lightly off her lookout point and sauntered over to her 'owner'. The odd feeling of something being terribly wrong increased again and she stopped, looking around. What was it? What was making her so edgy? Sparks frowned. She was half cat and so she had the same animal instincts, and those instincts told her something was about to happen.   
She caught sight of a human, dressed in a mechanic's overall. It was a female, blonde and slender, looking like every other human worker here. Sparks had a good memory for faces, so she didn't think humans were all alike. Some of her best friends were human. This was one very ordinary. What wasn't so ordinary was the gun in her hands.   
A gun.   
Sparks drew her lips back over her teeth and gave a soft hiss. What was the human doing with a gun? And what kind of gun was it anyway? It didn't look like anything she had ever seen. And then Megatron stepped out of the shadow of the complex. The human lifted the odd looking gun and aimed.   
The cat reacted purely out of instinct. Sparks had no idea whether or no the gun could do serious harm to the Decepticon leader, but she didn't think that a human would risk angering the large Cybertronian by shooting harmless pellets at him. She ran toward Megatron.   
"Get down!" she yelled.   
Megatron stopped, looking confused.   
The human hit the trigger.   
Sparks jumped and transformed in mid-leap. Something struck her in the back as she sailed right into the line of fire. It tore through her like a hot knife, destroying her skin and some of the circuits in her back. The bullet went straight through her back and out of her chest, where it exploded and sprayed millions of sharp particles. Sparks felt the shrapnels bury into her softer, organic skin, also cutting her metal skin, penetrating in several places. She gave a gasp of pain, unable to scream as more pain hit her. Her mind was blank with shock and she crashed to the ground in a heap. She was dimly aware of something sounding like a fusion canon repeatedly fired, then she shut down.

* * *

Dr. Kyle Scott sat in the cafeteria and slowly sipped at his coffee. He felt incredibly tired and empty. He had just come out of the OP where a very good and very long friend had battled death and was still fighting, but for how long? Shanygn was a very strong woman, but it had not been easy. The bullet had severed some wires of the exo-skeleton and he and Dr. Harris had had to severe some more to remove the bullet again, which had been very close to the heart. Shanygn had lost a lot of blood and she was weak. Someone placed another cup on the table and Kyle looked up, smiling slightly. It was Steve. The young man was looking tired as well, but much better than Kyle knew he looked. He was still in his surgical greens and had the crumbled remains of his surgical mask lying on the table.   
"Hi, Kyle," Steve said calmly. "Are you okay?"   
Kyle grimaced. "Shouldn't you rather ask how Shanygn is?"   
Steve gave him a serious look. "I have a pretty good idea how Shan is, but I want to know how you are?"   
"Tired and exhausted. What else do you expect after a twelve hour emergency surgery?"   
The dark-haired man opposite clasped his hands around the mug. "That I know as well."   
Kyle frowned. "What else do you want to know?"   
Steve met his eyes and said, "How are you coping with it?"   
Kyle felt himself lose a bit of color. He knew what Parker was aiming at. Only a few months ago they had lost Mike.... he had lost Mike. Michael de la Croix, Interface partner of Archer, had been severely injured through a Tji attack, and he and Archer had been in a very bad shape. Kyle had done everything humanly possible to save his friend's life, but in the end Mike had died. His death had sent Archer into a crazy rage and he had committed suicide, blowing up part of Scorponok and a few Tji with his self-destruction. And now Shanygn..... If she died, Rodimus might die as well, going utterly crazy before it because he would suffer from the separation, feeling her death as acutely as if it were his own.   
"I'm fine," he whispered.   
Steve leaned forward. "No, you aren't. I know you are still blaming yourself for Mike's death and I always tell you there was nothing you could have done. Don't start with Shanygn now. She will survive."   
Kyle smiled humorlessly. "I thought the same about Mike....."   
Steve nodded. "I know.... but Shanygn will survive... Roddy will see to that. Archer was in no condition to help Mike and Mike was in no condition to help Archer."   
The medic looked away. He knew that as well, but still..... "It was a difficult operation, Steve. We still don't know if we really managed to repair all the damage and Shanygn has to spend some days in a tank to get her skeleton repaired. We had to leave a lot of connections open and even if she survives, she has long recovery ahead of her." Kyle ran a hand through his blond hair. He felt so tired.   
"Dr. Scott?" Mark Harris approached and nodded a greeting at Steve.   
"Hello, Dr. Harris," Kyle greeted his fellow medic with a slight smile.   
"We transferred Shanygn to the Intensive Care Unit. She's not yet stable, but I firmly believe she will make it through the night."   
Kyle nodded, but there was no real conviction in his eyes. "Thanks."   
Harris gave him a critical look. "Listen, Doctor, the surgery went as well as it could and she has better chances to make it through the night than many of my patients in the past. Your friend Jill said you might want to get her back to Autobot City...."   
Steve nodded. "We think if she gets closer to Rodimus it helps both of them."   
"But the transport might worsen her condition...."   
Kyle shook his head. "We'll be using a stasis field."   
Harris looked doubtful. "I strongly advise she stays here. We could prepare a special room for her, so that her Autobot partner can visit."   
Kyle shook his head again. "No. If Shanygn stabilizes enough, we'll get her back to Autobot City. We are better prepared for this, we have the necessary equipment."   
Mark Harris sighed. "Okay, okay, I give up." He then gave Kyle another critical look. "And you better get a good night's sleep, Dr. Scott."   
Kyle smiled slightly, but before he could say something, Steve interrupted.   
"He will," the younger man promised and grinned at Kyle, who surrendered to his fate.

* * *

Rodimus hadn't shown any reaction throughout the whole time Skywolf had examined him. He had simply stared at the floor, uttering not a single word, and his optics were reflecting pure anguish. Skywolf now stepped to Optimus, who had been waiting outside.   
"I'm not sure what exactly happened," the medic said without preamble. "He won't answer to any questions or react in any way to my or any of his friend's presence. He woke out of the coma without any previous sign on any of the monitors that he was waking."   
"What now?" Optimus wanted to know.   
First Aid joined them and sighed. "We have to wait. That's all we can do. Rodimus is awake, but not really. He is conscious, but part of him is still in a coma and we can't reach him."   
Optimus nodded, the Matrix inside of him twisting painfully once more. Outside he showed no sign of the inner pain. He simply left med bay and went back to his office, wishing Aleeta was still around, was still with him. Another wave of pain, this time not originating from the Matrix, went through him. It was emotional pain and it was pain over the loss of the one female he had really loved. Too soon -- without a chance to say good-bye. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He had never said good-bye to Aleeta and he was afraid to do it. He was afraid it might take her away completely. He sighed softly. And now Rodimus. He couldn't lose his partner as well.   


Silhouette had watched Optimus leave med bay and she hesitated, trying to decide what to do now. She had to see Roddy, but Optimus needed help as well. Torn between supporting Optimus and seeing after Rodimus Silhouette stood in the corridor, then finally entered med bay. She would see after Optimus later. Rodimus needed her now.

* * *

Lieutenant Mitch Newkirk sighed and wished this hadn't happened on his shift. A shooting in a mall, the victim an alien woman closely associated with the Autobots. One of his officers had filed in the report and also delivered the bullet the surgeons had removed from the woman. It now lay on his desk, wrapped into a plastic bag. 'Evidence' was written on a white label on the bag, a number added to it. He looked at a stack of tapes, all confiscated from mall security. They were labeled as well, each with its own number. The tapes would go to another team for viewing. Shaking his head he took the evidence bag and went down to Ballistics.   
Ballistics was a rather large lab in the basement of the police precinct, right next to pathology.   
"Hey, Larry," he greeted the man in the lab coat standing in front of a strange looking box. Larry was aiming a gun into what seemed to be a long, thin box and fired. Then he laid down the weapon and retrieved the bullet from the box.   
"Hey, Mitch. How's'it going?"   
Larry Hamilton was a short, bespectacled guy with a mop of red hair. He had a natural cheerfulness which Mitch sometimes found utterly disgusting.   
"What's that?" Newkirk wanted to know and pointed at the bullet.   
"A bullet, Lieutenant. Remember those small things that you can shoot at things with?" Larry carried the bullet over to a microscope and placed it on the examination tray. Then he looked through the microscope. Seconds later he took the bullet and threw it in a trash can.   
"Damn, wrong a again," he muttered.   
"Huh?" Mitch asked.   
"Oh, it's one of those cases again, y'know. Everything looks perfect until we compare the bullets ...." Larry shook his head. "Wrong weapon. The guys'll flip."   
"What case?"   
"The murder at the drugstore."   
"Oh, yeah, I remember that one. Hartman and Garetti. Larry, I need a bullet examined. Top priority."   
The man from Ballistics grimaced. "It's always top priority with your cases, Mitch. You got the bullet?" Newkirk held up the plastic bag and Larry took it. "You have the results tonight."   
"Can't you make it any sooner?"   
"Listen, I know it's top priority to you, but those things take their time, okay?" He lifted the bag and grimaced slightly at the deformed piece of metal. "I can't just slide it under a magic microscope and tell you what the shooter had for breakfast!"   
Mitch chuckled. "Okay. Thanks, Larry."   
"No problem." With that Larry Hamilton set to work.   
Mitch, with nothing else to do down here, left and returned to his desk. Maybe he could find another lead of his own.

* * *

"I won't just sit here and see more of my comrades killed!"   
The statement was more or less a growl, a dangerously low growl that gave everyone who knew the speaker an idea what the current mood was. And it told everyone to stay clear of the four-legged robot.   
"Rushing into a fight head-long without a plan is foolish," Cyclonus said, his voice cold and flat.   
Razorclaw growled again, his optics taking on a deeper shade of red. "I have a plan, Cyclonus. I will kill them all."   
Cyclonus' lips twisted into a humorless smile. "A good plan to get yourself and your Predacons killed."   
Razorclaw roared and it echoed through the room. The other Predacons flinched a bit, though they should be accustomed by their leader's temper outbreaks. But this was something new. Razorclaw's temper was easy to trigger and he was a fierce enemy in war, but he had never lost it so completely. Every since the attack on Charr and the resulting total destruction of the Decepticon base, leaving many dead or dying, Razorclaw had changed. It was as if the dark side in him had taken over, that nothing could get him out of the constant, ferocious rage he was in. He had survived the attack and so had the other Predacons, though for Divebomb it had been nearly too late, and Headstrong still suffered from a kind of trauma nobody could define.   
"If it serves the cause to eliminate those pestilences from the galaxy, I will gladly and triumphantly die in battle!" Razorclaw hissed.   
Cyclonus stared at him, face a dark scowl. This was going to be bad, he knew. Megatron had turned handling the restless warriors over to him since he had other pressing matters to attend to and Cyclonus was doing what he could. Sometimes he thought he just wasn't getting anywhere. The Stunticons were hard to handle, but they, at least, had not been on Charr when the attack had killed so many. The Predacons had. And Razorclaw wanted revenge -- now!   
"You know Megatron's orders, Razorclaw. No one will go out and attack the Tji in a suicidal run. No one."   
The other robot transformed. "Megatron has lost his battle edge through this alliance!" Razorclaw yelled. "He is sitting back, administrating instead of fighting. He is turning into an Autobot wimp!"   
The next second the Predacon leader found himself pinned against the wall, Cyclonus' hotly glowing optics burning into his. "No one calls Megatron a wimp," the Decepticon second whispered, his voice sharp enough to cut through titanium. "We are trying to survive, Razorclaw -- against an enemy who could take us out any time he wanted to. We are only safe here because we are protected. We need our forces together and strong, not fighting against the enemy on their own on a foolish notion." His eyes were as cold as ice now. "If you want to risk your life that's fine with me, but it's not fine with the cause. Nothing can be gained by it and your personal feelings have to stand back behind the cause. Everyone is making sacrifices here, Decepticons as well as Autobots." His hand opened, releasing the Predacon out of their tight grasp. "I hope I made myself clear."   
Razoclaw's optics flashed in barely suppressed anger, then he transformed back into lion mode and left. The other Predacons exchanged doubtful glances, then followed their leader. Cyclonus shook his head.   
"Foolish," he whispered.   
Something slender and black sailed into the room, transforming into an equally slender, black female. "No luck?" Raven asked.   
Cyclonus gave a humorless bark of laughter. "I am lucky he didn't tear me apart."   
She chuckled. "Well, I doubt he would be able to."   
Cyclonus chuckled as well. "Thank you for your confidence."   
She grinned, then turned serious. "We have the same problems with some of the Autobots. They want to rush into battle and kill as many Tji as possible. Hound is doing everything he can, but he has about the same success as you had with Razorclaw. I'm afraid some of them will risk recriminations in case they ever return home in one piece. They want revenge for their dead or abducted comrades."   
Cyclonus nodded darkly. They would have to watch the agitated warriors -- very, very closely.

* * *

The figure on the bed was wrapped in bandages and hooked to several machines. They emitted not a single beep as they monitored heart rate and breathing. An IV stuck in one arm. Rodimus felt like he was falling into a black hole as he looked at the still face of Andrea Shanygn. His Interface partner lay motionless, not showing a single sign of life, her mind as quiet and pale as her face. If it hadn't been for the monitor, Rodimus would have thought she was dead. He came closer, his legs carrying him to the bedside on their own. Without conscious thought he fell to his knees and stared at Shanygn, his mind as blank as his face, aware of the tiny spark of life flickering weakly where her bright life force had once been.   
[Shanygn....?] he whispered, trying to contact her again, even though he knew there was no chance of reaching her.   
Someone stepped into the room, but Rodimus didn't get up or turn. He saw out of the corners of his eyes that it was a human doctor, but the face or person as such didn't register until a few seconds later. It was Kyle. He glanced at the young Autobot commander, then checked Shanygn. Rodimus didn't need to ask to know that she was weak, in a bad state and that her chances were slim.   
[You have to come back] he told her, mental voice unstable, wavering.   
As always there was no reply.   
[Please?]   
He simply sat and watched, talking softly to her through the mind link because he had heard from others it would help the patient hold on to the real world.

*

Optimus stood outside the treatment room, his optics fixed on the window that showed him Shanygn in the medical bed and Rodimus kneeling at her side. His second-in-command was oblivious to everything around him, his eyes fixed on his dying partner. Shanygn wasn't in a very good condition. The bullet had been very close to her heart and it had taken a lot of time and skilled surgery to get it out -- because of the exo-skeleton implanted in her body. He had read the report from Kyle and he was impressed by what he and the other surgeon, Dr. Mark Harris, had achieved. But it still meant Shanygn was in severe danger and she was monitored closely -- as was Rodimus. Shanygn had been transferred from the local hospital to the med bay of Autobot City. Not that Kyle didn't trust the local doctors, but he and his team had a lot more experience with Shanygn's alien body. Dr. Harris had readily agreed and they had transported her here wrapped in a stasis field. Kyle also wanted to have her close to Rodimus, thinking this might help the two of them.   
Optimus sighed and wished he had a way to help his young friend. Rodimus had come out of the coma, but he had not come out of the shock. The Autobot leader had him transferred to Earth and he had accompanied the transport. Rodimus had not spoken a single word and he seemed like a walking sleeper, unaware of his surroundings most of the time, and his skin color had turned more and more gray. Right now, the yellow color was all gone and replaced by a light gray, the former deep red and bright orange shadowed by a film of more gray. It was scary. Optimus had to confess he was afraid for his partner. He knew what an Interface link meant and he had always known that Rodimus and Shanygn were very close, but he had never really thought what might happen if she died. Shanygn had stopped aging through the link and somehow he had taken for granted that she would be around forever. When Mike had died and Archer had gone nearly completely insane, it had shown those illiterate in Interface affairs what would and could be the result of a terminal separation.   
"No change."   
The soft voice startled him a bit and he turned. Silhouette stood at his side, arms wrapped around her slender body. She looked worried and tense. Optimus knew she had tried to talk to Rodimus, but he didn't listen. He didn't even seem to be aware of anyone around him.   
"No."   
Optimus knew it hadn't been a question, but he still had to say something. Inside of him, the Matrix seemed to spasm again and he tensed. It had been doing that ever since Rodimus had gone into the coma and he knew it was reacting to something broadcast through the Interface link. It was reacting to Rodimus.   
"I wish we could help him," Silhouette said after some time, voice dark and heavy. "I feel so helpless."   
Optimus nodded. He felt incredibly helpless himself. There was nothing he could do, nothing at all. He could try and lose himself in work, but the spasming Matrix always reminded him that there was something terrible going on only a few levels away from him. Silhouette touched his arm and smiled.   
"Kup, Ultra Magnus and Hound have taken over your duties," she said softly. "They know you are needed here."   
Optimus gave her a startled look. "I can do nothing either....."   
Sil shook her head. "You and Rodimus are linked through his Interface link and the Matrix. I know you can feel him, feel what is going on. You can also help...."   
The Autobot leader looked confused. "How? I can't reach him!"   
Sil smiled a bit. "You are already there. He knows you are. That's all he needs: support."   
Optimus looked at the silent, gray figure of his young friend and nodded. "Maybe."   
Both stood together in silence for a long time, then Silhouette moved almost noiselessly away, leaving Optimus alone.

* * *

Daniel stood at the registration desk in the hotel lobby and checked out. He gave the woman behind the desk his keys, smiled and then shouldered his bag, walking to the exit. He was already expected by a green-skinned man with equally green hair, which had turned noticeably white at the temples in the last years, as Daniel thought with a smile.   
"Hi, Firebolt," he greeted the Nebulan. "I thought you had left with the ambassador....."   
Firebolt, Hot Rod's former Targetmaster partner, grimaced. "No, his 'excellency' had one of his fits and I decided to go back alone. He's somewhere on the way to the shuttle port now."   
Daniel nodded. He had just spent several days talking to the Nebulan ambassador and he thought he had a few gray hairs now. The man was a narrow-sighted, conservative and pig-headed individual who had only come to this meeting because Earth had paid the flight, as Firebolt had joked when he and Daniel had met in the bar of the hotel the first evening. The former Target master didn't agree with his homeworld's politics, but he couldn't do anything at all.   
The conference had been a last attempt to get the Nebulans to see reason and open their planet for off-worlders again. No chance. Nebulos was afraid of what off-worlder presence would bring for their small world, which had just started to turn back into what it had been before The Hive had enslaved the workers. Now a new war had broken out, not yet completely, but slowly and surely growing, and it seemed to hit planets with Autobot presence on it. Nebulos was incredibly afraid they would become a target with off-worlders on their planet. No amount of talking had convinced them otherwise, had made them see that the Autobots and Earth Force would be a defense.   
"How are Brainstorm and the others?" Firebolt now wanted to know as they walked to Daniel's car.   
Daniel sighed softly. "Not that good." Brainstorm and the other Headmaster had returned to Cybertron and had tried to readjust to a planet they had not left long ago, but to which they returned fundamentally changed. Part of them was organic now, permanently as long as the Nebulan inside their cranial unit lived, and the personality changes had been very obvious. They were now a mix of the Autobot and the Nebulan who had been joined. There was no distinguishing one from the other as long as the Headmaster was in robot mode. When he transformed, his head turned into an environmental suit for the Nebulan and their minds separated a bit, but never completely. Not anymore. The fusion had started a few months after their joining and it had taken on scary dimensions... until the two beings had become one.   
Coming back to Cybertron had been like returning to a world both knew but then again didn't. They were still trying to adjust, but it was proving to be difficult for them and Optimus had voted to transfer them to Earth, which was closer to Nebulos standards than Cybertron.   
Firebolt now nodded as Daniel told him about the problems. "I thought something like this would happen. The Nebulan part of them is missing home. Autobots are used to being away from home planet, but Nebulans are very much attached to their world. One part of the Headmasters misses their home while another is trying to adjust the Nebulan part to Cybertron."   
Daniel sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's difficult, maybe even impossible to readjust them quickly. I hope it works out, though. Say, you want to come back to Autobot City and pay the guys a visit?"   
Firebolt smiled. "Why not? It would be great to see them all again."   
Daniel steered the car toward the airport where F/X would be waiting, parked on a small field outside the official runways. In a way he was missing Nebulos as well, but he had always been quick to adjust to a new home, so e didn't mind coming back or staying on Earth or Cybertron. And Kimber was enjoying their return as well.   
They arrived at the airport faster than he had thought and Daniel parked the car at the rental car station. While he dropped the keys at the rental car station, Firebolt walked toward the silent jet he recognized as the Sentinel F/X.   
"Hiya, Firebolt," F/X greeted him cheerfully. "Coming along for the flight?"   
Firebolt chuckled. "Yep. Got some more room for me?"   
F/X chuckled as well. "I think I can squeeze you in somewhere."   
Daniel arrived and both humanoids climbed into the jet's cockpit. F/X got himself flight clearance and took off, aiming for Autobot City.

* * *

First Aid knew he would never forget the sight of Megatron and the bloodied form of Sparks in his arms. The cat was in her robot form, her emerald optics dark, her organic skin torn to pieces, the rest of her skin mangled and badly cut. Megatron had put her gently down on a treatment table and shot First Aid a look that had made the medic shudder. There was a lot of anger there, barely contained fury, blood rage contained inside a thinly walled bubble, ready to burst at the wrong word or move. The Decepticon leader had stepped back from the motionless and unconscious Sparks and had let First Aid do what was necessary.   
First Aid looked at the severely damaged body. "This will take some time," he said calmly.   
Megatron stared darkly at him, whirled around and left.

* * *

She had failed.   
The target has escaped and now she was the hunted. How she had failed was beyond her comprehension. She had aimed at the target, which had been in clear sight and could not have been missed, large as the robot was, but suddenly this shape had jumped into the way. The bullet had gone clear through the smaller, more slender robot and had exploded outside, showering everything with shrapnels. The gun had only one bullet chamber, which was usually enough to take out a target and she had not carried a second one, thinking it unnecessary. Just like with the first target, she would have disappeared in the commotion.   
And she had failed.   
Clenching her hands into fists she muttered a curse and walked into one of the dark side alleys close to the main railway station of South Port. Security was everywhere and no one was allowed to go in or out of South Port until they had the shooter. All humanoids were checked thoroughly and only those with special clearance were allowed to proceed; she didn't have those papers and there was no hope in hell she could get them. Some humans were allowed to pass without clearance and she had the faint theory that those were the ones known to the Cybertronians checking them, those they knew very well.   
She winced as the cuts and abrasions sent another wave of pain. The Decepticon had not hesitated a second to shoot into her general direction and only honed reflexes had saved her from being completely obliterated. She had been injured, though, and it slowed her down. She was also tired and hungry. She had some rations, but sooner or later she would need something else.   
She had failed.   
The words echoed in her mind, evoking anger and fury. One target taken out, one had survived. Her source of money and information would now dry out and nobody would ever confess he had been dealing with her. She was on her own.   
A cold expression settled over her face. If she had no back-up, she would continue alone. Those thrice-damned robots would expect the shooter to flee, so she would do the opposite: stay here and continue. She had not planned to eliminate the third target here, but now she had no other choice.   
She rose from her position, checked everything, found no one watching her and then walked back to South Port. She was as always just one of many, not even trying to leave, and she had exchanged her burned and bloodied clothes for a clean overall. Even this was her last deed ever, she'd do it. She owed her mother.   
She would kill Optimus Prime.

* * *

Rodimus was becoming desperate. He could feel Shanygn slip away and there was nothing he could do! His awareness of the real world around him was fading as he lunged after the spark of life.   
[Shanygn!]   
The cry echoed through the black emptiness that was once again opening up inside of him, ten times worse than when he had given back the Matrix to Optimus and turned into Hot Rod once more. At that time he had been able to lock the blackness away and pretend everything was okay and fine, that he was his old self again. Now.... he couldn't lose the only part that had kept him from feeling what it meant to be Rodimus Prime in soul and Hot Rod in body. If she went away, he would be Rodimus Prime in body and soul, but he would still be missing a great part of himself.   
[Don't!] he whispered desperately.   
And the world stopped to exist.   
Had someone attached a monitoring device to Rodimus, it would have registered no life signs at all for about five whole seconds. Rodimus died for this time, completely, utterly, his body already lifeless, his mind following. Then the fuel pump exploded into life again, the circuits coming back on-line, but his energon level sank rapidly again until it was a mere shadow of its former self. The young Autobot was still alive, but not very much.   
Not very much at all.

* * *

The news about the attack came in seconds after Sparks had been brought o sickbay and Optimus Prime felt something inside of him twist painfully. He wondered if it was just another echo from the Matrix or something else.   
"Someone dared to attack Megatron?" Cyclonus hissed, his optics cold and his voice even, but there was a faint trace of anger audible.   
Smokescreen nodded. "Someone shot at him and hit Sparks instead. Megatron didn't tell me what happened and I've to say I wouldn't dare to ask him anything." He smiled wryly.   
Cyclonus reflected that smile, then left the room, clearly intent to go and talk to his leader.   
"What else can you tell me, Smokescreen?" Optimus wanted to know. The Matrix once again spasmed and he winced. Luckily, Smokescreen hadn't seen it.   
"Not much. Megatron was leaving South Port when Sparks yelled at him and jumped into the way of the bullet. First Aid told me that it looks serious. The bullet exploded and showered everything with shrapnels after it exited out of her chest."   
Optimus frowned. "It exploded?"   
Smokescreen nodded. "I got a report of it to Kup and he launched a search for the unknown sniper, since he could escape in the ensuing chaos after the shooting. Megatron said he shot at the retreating figure and he might be hurt."   
"Any idea who or what it might be?"   
"Humanoid. That's all we have."   
Optimus nodded. "All right. Keep at it Smokescreen."   
Smokescreen nodded and left. Optimus fell back against his desk and clutched his chest. The Matrix seemed to burn all of a sudden and he gasped. Darkness washed over him, clouding his mind, his soul, tearing him apart. He screamed, but no sound could be heard. This was just like the time he had died, the time he had passed the Matrix on to Rodimus. His body, already beyond repair, had failed, his mind shutting down. When he had handed over the Matrix, his body going limp, he had felt the same threatening blackness and it had engulfed him, washing him away. Several seconds passed, then everything returned back to normal.   
"Rodimus?!" Prime whispered hoarsely.   
And then he was pulled inside.

* * *

Ravage stopped to sniff the ground, his highly tuned senses eliminating those smells not from humanoids, as well as those from humanoids like the Interfaces. He was following a trail which he had picked up not too long ago and which might not lead into a dead end. It was the faint smell of blood, of someone injured, but not bleeding badly.   
A com signal came in from Soundwave and he answered it, relaying his position and current activities. Soundwave acknowledged and then vanished into the vast Net again, checking on his other spies. Like all cassettes, except for Rumble and Frenzy, Ravage was looking for a trace of the sniper. Megatron had ordered this search and not only Soundwave, but also Blaster had volunteered his cassettes as blood hounds. And it had been blood Ravage had found.   
Ravage stopped and sniffed at a closed airvent, which led from somewhere inside the rail system maintenance building to the surface of Cybertron. The smell of blood was very strong for his sensitive nose, and he clawed at the vent, ripping it open. The feline stuck his head inside, tuning his senses down a bit as the smell of blood hit him full force, even if it was faint, and dug out a bundle of clothes. Human sized clothes.   
The Decepticon spy sent out a new signal to Soundwave, informing him of what he had found and received instant orders to stay where he was and wait for Security to arrive. Ravage settled down on his haunches. That was what he'd do.

* * *

He walked.   
He wasn't really doing it on his own. It was more like he was walked by someone. He tried to resist first, but then surrendered to the guiding hands.   
He arrived in a room.   
The room was held in several shades of gray and there was no distinguishable furniture anywhere. No windows either. He hesitated, feeling the guide move away.   
"Hello?" he tried.   
Something seemed to be in the center of the room, sitting motionless. It was like a lump of grayness and it radiated.....   
He stopped, frowning. The figure was so familiar.......   
Pain.   
Fear.   
Desperation.   
Loneliness.   
"Shanygn!" he breathed.   
The lump formed into a humanoid figure and bright blue eyes seemed to look right into his soul. He reached out, trying to touch her, but seemed to collide with an invisible wall.   
"Shan?" he asked, a bit confused.   
"Rodimus!" she choked. "How.... how did you get here?"   
"I was just here," he explained. "You...." he stopped, briefly closing his eyes. "You were shot..... I felt it...."   
Shanygn nodded, not moving. "I know," she answered in a whisper.   
Rodimus approached his closest friend. "What is this here?"   
She looked up and smiled sadly. "A part of me.... where I went when I was trying to forget the real world.... the pain.... the anger.... the humiliation."   
He looked questioningly at her. "This is part of you?"   
"Yes. A very old part of me that I haven't seen in many years... since we met."   
Rodimus approached her a bit more and reached out again. This time he felt the wall give way under his probing fingers. He walked forward and suddenly was at Shanygn's side. He briefly wondered why he was her size, then discarded that thought as unimportant. He touched her, feeling her shoulder very real beneath his hand. Shanygn looked at him and he was struck by the deep pain in her blue eyes.   
"Why did you come here now?" he asked.   
"I don't know," she whispered. "I .... if I go back.... I just can't face it all again!" Shanygn was starting to shake.   
"Face what?"   
She looked straight ahead and he followed her gaze, suddenly aware that the room had grown to exits.   
"Where do they lead?" Rodimus wanted to know.   
"One leads back.... and one doesn't....."   
"Then let's go back."   
Shanygn seemed to recoil. "No! No," she breathed, trying to calm down again. "I can't go back."   
Rodimus felt a stab of pain. "You ...can't?" he asked with dread in his voice.   
Blue eyes looked at him with a soft smile. Shanygn seemed so insubstantial here, but her eyes were like two bright lights -- very real in this shadow world.   
"Not because of you, Roddy," she told him. "But because of what awaits me there."   
Rodimus turned and looked at the exit, which was like a tunnel, leading into infinite darkness. The other one was the same. He couldn't see a thing.   
"What is waiting there?" he wanted to know.   
Shanygn closed her eyes and shuddered, her arms wrapped around her body. "My past."   
He looked down the tunnel again. "How do you know?"   
Shanygn smiled. "This is me, Roddy. You are inside my head, my mind. I have been here before -- several times. And I always had to go through my past to come back to the present."   
Rodimus tried to make her meet his eyes. When she looked up, the blue of her eyes had turned darker -- darker with fear.   
"I'll be with you, Shanygn," he said seriously.   
She managed a smile. "I know.... but I don't want you to experience what I know is lurking there."   
"To experience it or to come to know it?" he asked carefully.   
Shanygn had always kept her past to herself and she had shared few facts of it throughout their many years of partnership. Rodimus respected her decision not to let him in and he had settled back into waiting until she might one day reveal what had happened to her. He knew it had to be a lot; he knew it had to be cruel and brutal; he also knew he would help her through it if she remembered it for his sake.   
Now she looked away. "Maybe both," she answered after some time.   
"I want you to come back to me, Shan," Rodimus told her, touching her hands.   
"And I want to be back, but ... I'm afraid." She seemed to grow even more insubstantial.   
"No!" he exclaimed, feeling her hands grow weaker beneath his touch. "Please, Shanygn! Don't let go! I will face your past with you! I'll help you, but please come back to me!" He was shaking a bit, his voice wavering. "I need you," he whispered. "You are a part of me -- of my body and mind!"   
She smiled. "I am what the Matrix was for you."   
"No, you are more! You are a part I was always missing!" He shook his head in desperation. "Come with me, please?"   
Her eyes were fixed on the corridor she'd have to walk if she decided to come along and they filled with dread.   
"I promise I won't leave you," Rodimus added.   
Shanygn's shoulders straightened and she inhaled deeply. "Okay," she said softly. "I will try it."   
"No, not try. Do!"   
She smiled again. "Okay, do."   
Rodimus mirrored the smile and she rose from her sitting position. He took her hand and they both started to walk toward the feared exit out of the shadow room. Rodimus felt his partner tense for just a second, then they entered.

*

Optimus Prime was like a stowaway inside a body that was partly familiar to him. He watched through eyes and heard through audio sensors that were not his own, but his emotions were his own, though he also felt those of his 'host'. Optimus was inside Rodimus, inside the former Matrix space, trapped in those circuits, unable to talk to Rodimus, make him aware of what had happened.   
And through Rodimus eyes he saw Shanygn, and he heard what she said, felt Rodimus' desperation and fear. Those emotions were overwhelming him, confusing him since he had never felt anything like it himself, but deep inside of him rose the understanding of what Interfacing meant.   
Optimus had Interfaced only once, completely involuntarily and only for a brief time, even though an Autobot was not able to Interface at all. It had left its marks on him, but he had never come closer to understanding what Interfacing meant. He had never experienced the good sides of it, only the pain of separation and the sudden emptiness. Since his Interface had been so brief, the feeling had not lingered, but it had really affected him. He found he shared a strange, mental link with Silhouette, the former humanoid who had been forced into the Interface with him by Braintrust. It wasn't telepathy or empathy, it was just that she was there when he needed someone to talk to, especially when Rodimus was not around, and she understood. He didn't have to explain. Just like Rodimus she knew him -- maybe even better than he knew himself, which was scary sometimes.   
Rodimus moved on, following Shanygn, keeping close to her, his mental link stretched out to her and holding her close. Optimus felt like he was seeing and feeling something that was not meant for him to see of feel, but he couldn't help it. He was here. He couldn't leave. Rodimus stepped through the exit into the tunnel.   
And the world changed around them.

* * *

Sparks felt miserable. Her body had been mended, but it still ached and hurt, especially since her organic skin was mending much slower and had to heal instead of receiving repairs. First Aid had worked for a long time to get her back on-line and she was as good as new body-wise -- except for the skin, of course -- but the pain was a bother. She walked slowly into the office and hopped onto one of her favorite places, the window sill. Sparks curled up, burying her nose in her bushy tail.   
She had been thoroughly questioned about the incident by security, Kup asking her question after question until First Aid had kicked him out, telling Kup he could question the patient later. Sparks had seen quite a lot for the short time she'd seen the sniper and she had given Kup every detail she could remember:   
Instinct had led her to jump into the way of the bullet and the pain had been so.... unexpected, so new, it was haunting her. She still saw images of the pain. Yes, she saw them. It was strange and she shuddered every time she remembered it.   
Megatron was not in the office and she was, for once, glad she could be alone. First Aid had hesitated to release her from med bay, but she had convinced him she was okay again and would get some rest. Now she was resting and felt those aches again. Sparks sighed. In a few days this would only be a bad memory, but until then she was very miserable.   
Suddenly someone stepped into the office and she knew it was Megatron. It was this uncanny feeling, this sensation when he entered a room, that told her, without looking up, that it was him. He walked up to the window and remained silently at her side. Sparks had her eyes closed, for once wishing he would be very far gone.   
"I heard you released yourself from med bay," he said then, his voice as harsh and rough as always.   
Sparks didn't answer. She felt Megatron's scowl and sighed softly. "Yes," she finally muttered into her furry tail.   
"You should be recovering in med bay," Megatron criticized, an unfriendly tone in his voice. He had never been very friendly toward her, letting her feel she was a nuisance, and it had never bothered her, but right now she was irritable and aching.   
"I am recovering," she growled. "Here."   
There was a short silence. "I see." Another silence, then Megatron added, "We found traces of the sniper -- a blood covered overall." Satisfaction swung in his voice, she heard, because he had not completely missed his target.   
Sparks snorted.   
Megatron muttered something under his breath and walked over to his desk, switching on the terminal and accessing his files. Sparks opened an eye and watched him, noting the barely suppressed anger that was simmering just below the surface. He was still furious about the near-hit and no one had yet found the sniper, but the security was weaving an ever-tightening web.   
After watching him for about half an hour, Sparks uncurled silently, ignored the aches, jumped down the window sill and up onto his chair. He looked at her, red optics cold with anger and boiling temper.   
"It's not your fault," she said firmly.   
He drew back, not physically, but mentally as she saw in his eyes. "I'm not feeling guilty."   
She grinned. "Yeah, Right. But believe me if I tell you that you couldn't have possibly seen that human. She was hidden perfectly and I saw her only by accident."   
Megatron's optics narrowed. "How well did you see her?"   
She shrugged and winced as it resulted in a bit of pain. "Not long enough to give an accurate description. All I saw I told Kup already."   
The Decepticon growled something again. "We'll get that human," he promised darkly. "And she can start praying to her gods that I only use the fusion cannon on her......"   
Sparks cocked her head. "You," she said slowly, "need a hobby."   
Those icy cold optics fixed on her and she felt the last of her misery disappear as the day-to-day challenge was accepted. Megatron leaned forward.   
"I have a hobby," he snarled. "Throwing you out of here, recovering or not recovering."   
Sparks shot him a haughty look and stalked to the edge of the desk, tail held high. "You wouldn't be able to catch me even if I had two paws tied," she teased.   
Megatron erupted from his chair, but before he was even around the desk, Sparks was already out of the door, and he thought he heard laughter. He stared at the closed door and one corner of his mouth lifted into a faint, barely perceptible smile, then he turned and went back to work -- hacking into Kup's security files......

* * *

"Do you know what time it is?"   
The question made Newkirk look up, straight at Miria McPherson. The female detective looked worriedly at him. Mitch glanced at his desk clock.   
"Something after nine," he answered warily. "Why?"   
"You've been here for two whole shifts, y'know."   
He quirked an eyebrow. "And what are you still doing here?"   
She smiled. "I just finished another shift, Lieutenant. I pulled double because I switched with Gary. So, what is your excuse for still hanging around these friendly quarters?" Miria prodded.   
"Looking," he muttered, his eyes already back on the screen of the TV standing in his office cubicle. He switched on the VCR again.   
"Looking for what?"   
"A lead," the Lieutenant sighed. "These are the surveillance tapes. I watched them with O'Hara and Adams, but we haven't found anything yet. We could exclude a lot of people, but there's also nothing extra-ordinary. And I'm waiting for Larry to come up with the results on that bullet." He tried to sound dismissive, but Miria was not easy to get rid of. They had been working together for too long as for her to be intimidated by his manners -- or his rank. Technically, he was her superior, but practically they were good friends and he had never pulled rank on her.   
"I thought you had assigned the case to detectives?" She quirked an eyebrow.   
Mitch scowled at her. "Hey, this is nothing to take lightly. We got another report in, one that doesn't concern us as the police but the research team as such, that the sniper tried to take out a Cybertronian on Cybertron."   
"She's on Cybertron?" Miria asked in surprise.   
Mitch nodded. "I talked to Ultra Magnus and he told me. It's high priority now to find out who is doing this."   
She nodded. "Need some help? I'm good with computers. What are your parameters?"   
The Lieutenant sighed. "Thanks for the offer, Miria, but no thanks. Just go home and get some sleep. We got enough cases to solve without this."   
The woman stifled a heavy sigh, knowing that she had no chance to get through to Newkirk. "Okay," she finally gave in. "See you tomorrow."   
Mitch mumbled something incoherent and she left. Miria was gone for barely a minute when Larry Hamilton called.   
"I've got the results, Mitch," he told Newkirk.   
"Finally!"   
"Hey, come one!" Hamilton protested. "It's not my fault...."   
"Larry," Mitch broke in. "What do you have?"   
"Something very interesting," the ballistics' expert said with audible satisfaction in his voice. "This bullet didn't come from a normal rifle. This one's a special construction, handmade, I guess. Very rare."   
Newkirk listened up. That was a real lead. "Can you say what kind of rifle it might be? Something specific?"   
"No, not really. You might find something if you run the marks on the bullet through our ballistics' computer," Larry offered. "I can give you access to the program down here."   
"Okay, okay. I'm coming down."   
"What? Tonight?"   
"Yes, tonight. Warm up that program of yours, this case has been declared high priority a few hours ago." Newkirk slammed down the receiver and stopped the tape. Then he was on his way down to ballistics.

* * *

A heavily protected shuttle left the fortress and disappeared inside a warp gate. Katalumera watched it go, asking herself if this was a good idea. Ath'antheia was going to a place she hadn't been to for millions of years, a place neither of the Tji here or anywhere else had thought of for about the same time span. He was going to the old space station that had been Ralyk's shell for so long. She didn't know what he was planning to find there, but it wasn't her position to ask.   
The shuttle entered the warp gate.

* * *

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around with a puzzled expression.   
No one answered him and he discovered that Shanygn was no longer at his side.   
"Shan?"   
As he looked around to find his partner again, Rodimus discovered that the scenery around him was changing. It was becoming more and more of a planetary surface. Not a lot of a surface, but he could make out vague shapes. Something looking like a building loomed up not far away and he simply approached it. He felt a presence with him, an insecure and fearful presence, and he thought it had to be Shanygn.   
[I'm here] he whispered through the Interface link.   
The building came into focus, looking like a squat block of metal, stone and glass. The windows were all locked tightly, the entrance closed, the premises walled off. It looked like a forbidden zone, though there was no sign saying 'restricted area' or 'keep off'. The whole building radiated the warning not to come closer. But Rodimus had never been someone to heed warning immediately, and this concerned someone very close to him.   
He entered.   
The scenery shifted again and he stood in a corridor. Everything was clean and smooth and empty. There was no one around, so he walked further inside. Something lead him to a room. He opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks.   
"Shanygn?"   
There was a figure lying on a bed, dressed up in what looked like a very crude version of an exo-skeleton, connected to machines, arms and legs, as well as her mid-section, restrained by strong looking bonds. The face was very familiar, though pale, drawn and younger. It was definitely Shanygn.   
"When I was born," a voice suddenly said and Rodimus was startled by it, "I was immediately put into an institution. I never knew my parents. My people have the philosophy that no one should be put to death because of a handicap, so this is the reason why I was born by my mother and not aborted. It would have been murder in their eyes. They put me into a crude version of the exo-skeleton I wore later when we met. I learned quite quickly that I had no rights and was only tolerated and taken care of because of my people's philosophy. They let me feel it at every turn. My race grows quickly in the first years of childhood and I outgrew the skeleton. I began to work on getting it to fit me and I discovered I had this fast understanding of mechanics. I tried to learn more, to teach me reading and writing, more than I had already been taught."   
Rodimus discovered the version of Shanygn he knew a his side, her eyes fixed on the person on the bed, who was weakly struggling against the bonds.   
"They found out and .... and they transferred me into a closed institution. They locked me up, denied me everything, treated me like a mind-dead idiot. They tried to break me."   
Rodimus stared at the younger Shanygn on the bed, disbelief rising inside of him.   
"They nearly succeeded, especially after .. when they operated me," Shanygn whispered and there was so much pain in her voice that Rodimus thought he could physically feel it.   
"Operated?" he asked, his voice rough.   
"They ... they made me infertile.... erasing another factor: reproduction in case I ever got free...." Shanygn started to tremble and the link they still shared even while Rodimus was inside her mind, started to glow with the echoes of her emotions. ".... or in case a rape made me pregnant," she added in such a low whisper that he had to strain to hear her. But he didn't really have to hear her; Rodimus was witness to the emotional backwash.   
He felt the link strengthen and drag himself toward his partner. There was a rapid change of scenery and suddenly Rodimus was confronted with things he had never been told by Shanygn and had never dared to ask. He felt understanding rise, compassion, anger, rage, fury, sadness and helpless fear, intermixed with dread and disgust; utter disgust as to what had been done to her. Those were emotions from both himself and Shanygn, who seemed to hover close by. He let himself get carried by the link, unresisting, too shocked to do anything else.   
He finally resurfaced and felt Shanygn's presence in his mind, trembling and valiantly trying to get her emotions under control, which were threatening to overwhelm her. He did the only thing he could: he embraced her, curling his presence around his Interface partner, showing her he was here. Shanygn relaxed a bit and let him enter all the way once more, but not taking him on the same ride again.   
"Gods, Shan...." he whispered.   
"None of us had any rights," she told him, trying to complete what she had started, to face it with him. "We were just to be kept alive. Killing a handicapped was considered murder, like I told you, and punishable by death. So the handicapped and the unwanted were kept in institutions.... where no one cared about their fate as long as they lived and then died a natural death." Tears ran down her face. "I saw many die through loneliness and desperation. Some took their lives after the rapes..."   
Rodimus held her tightly inside his own protective shell, more disgust rising. Suddenly the scenery changed yet again and they were standing in what looked like a forest of stalagmites and stalactites. Again he could make out shapes around him, moving shapes, talking shapes, but nothing definite.   
"I managed to escape......," Shanygn went on, her voice drifting around him like the shapes, "even though I was barely able to move without the skeleton. We all banded together and organized enough stuff for me to give me the chance to build small impulse generators to allow my damaged nerves to send impulses. I stole one of those old exo-skeleton. I came quite far until it broke down. I crawled away and hid in the cavernous tunnels running through the ground. That's when I also met those who had fled earlier. No one ever confessed about escaped 'inmates' -- it was a prison for everyone, even if everyone called it either a special hospital or institution to help us people." She shook with disgust. "I lived with the others for some time, fixing and repairing their equipment, trying to keep me and them alive. It was like being an animal. We weren't hunted, mind you. If they would have gone after us, all the pretense about giving us peaceful years in a warm and nice environment would have evaporated. So they tolerated the fact of our existence somewhere in the wild. It wasn't a life in luxury or even a civilized life, but it was life!"   
The shapes became clearer and Rodimus saw people looking like Shanygn -- bluish skin, hair in all the shades of blue -- moving through the maze of the cavernous room he was in. Most of them were handicapped in one way or another, crippled, disformed, sometimes only able to move with the help of either others or machines. Shanygn was among them, her exo-skeleton looking better, though a lot like patch-work, her face tightly drawn and thin, but her eyes were mirrors of her determination as she helped and received help.   
"I don't know how long I existed like that. I just remember that fateful day when the exo-skeleton failed and I was all alone out in the mountains. You see, I had moved on into the emptiness of the wild with some people because I couldn't stand to be so close to where I had been kept like an animal...... Anyway, the suit broke down. I couldn't move, I was helpless." She stopped again, her face taking on a thoughtful note. "I just lay there, thinking of how ironic it was to be able to get out of this closed institution and then die out in the wild, alone and unable to even move into a more comfortable position. The others were not with me and they wouldn't have been able to help me anyway. That's when I met F/X."   
"The Sentinel?" Rodimus asked quietly, watching the scenery change yet again, this time into the familiar Alean landscape, then the Sentinels' underground base.   
"Yes. They had landed on my homeworld to explore it. My kind was no space faring nation. They didn't want 'alien' influences contaminating their society." Shanygn ground out those words with an acid voice. "The technological standard was high, but we never went into space. Well, anyway, F/X was my first alien and I was frightened to death. I couldn't scream as he picked me up. I was completely paralyzed, not only by my handicap, when he carried me off. F/X brought me to Skywolf and Kyle and Jill. They took care of me. All I was at the time was a frightened young woman, completely paralyzed and afraid that they would bring me back to the institute. I wasn't afraid to die, though. I would have embraced death, welcomed it with open arms. And then there was the fact that they stripped me down and that Kyle was male. I couldn't move and I couldn't scream because of fright. I suffered and I cried silently."   
Shanygn stopped again, trying to get herself under control. Pictures changed wildly now and Rodimus had trouble catching them all. He was a witness to the Sentinels' attempts to help Shanygn, the examinations, the checks -- how they really tried to show her they were not her enemies, that she could talk to them.   
"It took a long time to realize they were trying to help me. F/X is a very sensitive Sentinel and I learned to trust him first," Shanygn went on. "Midnight frightened me like nothing else, but I soon found out he was also a very gentle soul. But F/X got to me first and I told him I didn't want to go back. I wanted to go anywhere but back and Midnight finally decided that I could come with them. I worked on the new exo-suit for me and Skywolf helped me. He was impressed by my skill and taught me a lot of things I had never learned, things even children know. I tried to forget my past, really forget it. No one ever asked me about what had happened to me, why I was treated this way. I had to learn to trust the male Interfaces, each and every one of them. I couldn't stand to be touched by Kyle for a long time and I think they had their own ideas of what had happened to me, though no one ever said a word. They accepted me as I was, treated me human and normal."   
Shanygn inhaled deeply as the world changed yet again, this time into blurry nothingness with a tiny blue dot at the end of the nothingness.   
"And then I met you, Roddy...."   
She smiled at him and he smiled back, feeling warmth course through him. More pleasant memories began to chase away the darkness of the past.   
"Will you come back to me?" Rodimus asked as Shanygn still stood like rooted to the spot.   
She turned to look at him, then nodded slightly.   
Everything around him suddenly blurred, then he was enveloped in blue light. He felt a violent tug and then there was nothing.

* * *

Optimus gasped and his optics flared with consciousness. He felt a tremor pass through him, the Matrix space sending waves upon waves of Matrix energy, making him tremble uncontrollably. Finally the feeling subsided and he dared to relax.   
He was in his own body again, finally, but he also had the memories of what had happened. He shuddered. Optimus didn't want those memories, but he had them, and he felt unwell with them, as if he knew something he was not entitled to know. This was something that concerned only Rodimus and Shanygn, not him. He was an outsider.   
A blinking light caught his eye and he activated the terminal. There was a short note that Ravage had found some blood covered clothes. Dr. Maulkin had identified it as human blood. He was currently trying to extract a DNA print and then run it through the computer files. Maybe they'd find a match or a trace.   
Optimus sat for a few more minutes, then rose from his chair and walked slowly out of his office.

* * *

Firefall stumbled backwards and grabbed her chest where Gaelon sat inside the matrix. She gasped.   
"What .... Gaelon?"   
There was a short silence.   
:: It's gone ::   
"What is?" the Venerakkin leader demanded.   
:: My bond to Rodimus and Shanygn ::   
Firefall felt like she was suddenly missing several of her circuits, emptiness spreading inside her. "She... Shanygn is ....She's dead?" she finally managed.   
:: No. She is still there, but hidden from me. She is as inaccessible as any other Interface all of a sudden :: Gaelon sounded truly puzzled.   
"How come?" Firefall was equally confused.   
:: The link is protected. I'm not sure what it is, but it's covering them. It is as if the Interface is.... complete..... ::   
"That's impossible," the Venerakkin protested. "Rodimus is an Autobot. He can't Interface like a Sentinel!"   
:: Nevertheless he did. And now it is complete. He Interfaced 100 percent ::   
Firefall frowned and shook her head. She couldn't believe, she just couldn't. Maybe Gaelon was wrong..... She'd have to find out when she returned to Cybertron.

* * *

She was like a silent shadow. No one saw her and she kept out of the way of everyone as she sneaked into South Port Main Complex. There were public areas and no one stopped her here. No one apparently expected her to be here. Choosing a quiet spot she checked her remaining gear, which wasn't much. She had a shrapnel bomb, functioning the same way the bullet had, and it would be enough to plant it close to a spot the last target would seek out. But this also presented a problem. She had to get to those levels where Optimus Prime would most likely be, but she would have to pass security first.   
The female sniper left the area and walked to the elevators, studying the floor plan. Some levels were completely off limits for visitors, some were with restricted access, some were open for visitors. She frowned and thought hard. Maybe she could get down an airvent from the open levels.....   
She stepped into the next elevator and punched the correct button that would get her to the level closest to where she wanted to go.

* * *

The computer screen flickered in front of Mitch Newkirk as he hacked in various commands and tried to convince the machine to get going and find the files he needed. After a few minutes he found the file he was looking for and scanned in the picture of the bullet's markings. Every rifle left distinguishing marks on a bullet and it was easy to say what type the bullet had been fired from if you had comparative notes, especially since these marks were unique enough to narrow the possible weapons. The computer in Ballistics was up to date with all the files and Newkirk hoped that they contained a clue to where the bullet had come from.   
Finding something specific wasn't as easy as most people believed. There were dozens of files which held information on special rifles and some of them had markings coming very close to the one left on the bullet. Their computer was a new model and he had access to world wide files, but it still took a lot of time.   
It took two hours, to be exact, until Newkirk found a near match to the marks on the bullet. His eyes widened as he read the name of the owner of the weapon. 'Collin McKellen'. He remembered Collin McKellen as one of the weapons dealers in a case he had solved together with a colleague from New York three years ago. McKellen had dealt with everything that had been remotely usable as a weapon, and he had also been involved with a drug and weapons ring in New York. His gun had been a special weapon, handmade by his brother Mark after blueprints supplied by a woman named Diana MacKenzie, and unique. And it also left unique marks on the bullets. But as far as Newkirk could remember the weapon had been confiscated and then destroyed. A short note in the file confirmed his memory. The weapon had been destroyed professionally and everything that could be had been molten down.   
He called up Diana MacKenzie, who had delivered the original blue prints for the gun, and frowned again. MacKenzie had quite an impressive file -- which ended with her death. But she had always gone up against the Autobots and Decepticons in the past, trying to take out her personal revenge on them until she had been killed in a shuttle explosion. And she had a daughter. Newkirk followed the lead and came upon Alicia Hunt, daughter of Diana MacKenzie, married once, divorced two years later, no criminal record except for a few minor things in her youth. As he finally received her picture, he frowned deeply. He changed programs to the precinct's mail system and dialed Autobot City, using the code Ultra Magnus had given him. When he had a connection he sent the information he had.

* * *

Ravage was prowling through the corridors of South Port, his highly attuned sensors set on one specific trail. Blood. Blood from wounds which might not even bleed any longer, but they were smelling nevertheless, especially for him. Several security officers had taken away the blood-stained clothes and Soundwave had set him on the blood trail, though there wasn't much to follow but a very faint scent. For Ravage it was enough, as was for Steeljaw. The cassette lion had been set on the same trail, joining Ravage, and now they were searching level after level for the right person. They were primarily going through the levels with open access for everyone because Hound, who was in charge, doubted the sniper had access to the secure levels, though if they didn't find her here, they'd search those as well. They had split up to cover more ground and Ravage was currently on the lowest of the open levels.   
Suddenly a com line opened and Soundwave sent a file. Ravage opened it, never stopping his search, and memorized it. There was a picture coming with the raw facts about who might be behind all this and Ravage immediately set his sensors on alert for this person in case she was here. Steeljaw had received and acknowledged the same information as well.   
Ravage stopped and sniffed, eyes flaring slightly. The smell of blood was getting stronger. He was closing in on his target. And then he discovered the figure. It was a female human, slender, not overly tall, dressed in a worker's overall. She was trying to unscrew an airvent grill. Ravage moved noiselessly closer, his metal claws not making a single sound. The human was blonde and her profile looked like the one on the picture he had received. He sent a string of information to both Steeljaw and Soundwave.   
Suddenly the human stopped in her work and turned. Her eyes grew wide, her features draining of color as she discovered the robot feline. Ravage stopped and compared the features to the picture, then confirmed it was indeed the woman. And the smell of dry blood was strong.   
The woman moved away from him. Ravage gave a low growl. Soundwave told him to corner the woman and wait for security to arrive. The woman didn't cooperate though. She suddenly bolted down the corridor in the misguided hope of escaping the cassette Transformer. Ravage followed her, feeling something a human would call an adrenaline rush, the thrill of the hunt rising. He hadn't had some serious action in weeks. As the woman ran down the corridor, Ravage followed at an almost lazy pace. She was not as enduring in speed as he could be and she didn't know her way around. Ravage was just about to close the distance and get her down when she suddenly pulled something out of her knapsack which she had been carrying. It was small, oblong and colored in dark blue.   
And she threw it at Ravage.   
That was also the moment two other robots came into the corridor, exiting one of the rooms. Ravage recognized Jazz and Tracks. Only his instinct and speed saved the feline from getting into the way of a sudden explosion. Some of the grenade shrapnels grazed his skin but he didn't care. The two Autobots weren't so lucky. The explosion sent most of the shrapnels their way and Jazz cried out in pain as several of the thin metal bits went deeply into his body. He stumbled against the corridor's wall, clutching his mid-section. Tracks yelled in surprise and pain as well, one leg getting perforated thoroughly.   
A low snarl escaped Ravage's lips and his red optics burned with an annoyed fire. He ran after the retreating figure, his hunting instincts taking over now.   


Alicia Hunt ran as fast as she could, her lungs burning. Her mind was reeling with failure. How had they found her? What had given her away? She had to get out of here, but she had no idea how. This was unknown territory! And she had used up her last defense mechanism on trying to take out her hunter, but it had resulted in two uninvolved Autobots getting more damaged than her hunter.   
As she rounded a corner she nearly collided with a robot and stumbled back. The robot was small compared to many others, but still larger than her. He was colored in gold and yellow, as well as silver. Alicia whirled around, but was confronted by the steel-gray cat, which had a shoulder height about her size.   
"What is going on here?" the robot demanded.   
The cat snarled and approached, more or less prowling toward her like she was one of its prey..... and somehow she was.   
"Ravage, what are you doing?" the golden robot asked.   
Ravage snarled something and ducked down, revealing his sharp teeth in a low rumble. He got ready to jump. Alicia broke out in sweat.   
"Ravage, abort mission," a monotonous voice suddenly ordered and the cat hissed in annoyance, but he didn't move either.   
A large, blue Transformer loomed up over her and Alicia knew she had lost.   
"What in the name of Cybertron is going on here?!" the smaller robot now exploded. "Who is this human and why did you hunt her?"   
Soundwave turned toward Goldbug and gave him an emotionless look. "She is wanted by the Council, as well as Earth Force, for attempted murder in two cases."   
Goldbug stared at the blonde woman who was starting to tremble slightly. "Attempted murder?" He added one and one and came up with something he didn't like. "Shanygn and Megatron?"   
"Yes. Ravage, return."   
Ravage folded back into his cassette mode and flew into Soundwave's chest. Soundwave looked coldly at the human, then picked her up. She didn't even struggle.   
"Where are you taking her?" Goldbug wanted to know.   
"Containment facilities."   
With that the large Decepticon walked off.

* * *

Silhouette noiselessly entered the treatment room, her optics running over Shanygn, who was still not conscious but much more stable than a day ago, as Kyle had told her, and then to Rodimus, who sat on the floor and stared at his partner with a lost expression. Silhouette sat down on the floor as well, a silent support. She didn't like how he had turned even more gray, his skin more or less one shade now, giving him an almost dead look. The only color still on him were his optics, but they were a dull blue, not the lively bright color they always had.   
"She is not going to die," Sil said after a long time of silence.   
Rodimus trembled a bit. Silhouette touched his arm.   
"She is strong and you are helping her. Don't give up, Roddy...."   
He was silent, as always, and it frightened Silhouette to no end. Rodimus being so completely silent, not uttering a word, was scary because it ran completely opposite to his usual self.   


Rodimus' mind was with the past he had lived through and which wasn't even his own past.   
He felt the humiliation and the silent pride not to go down.   
He felt the anger and fear.   
Panic and hope.   
Disgust and desperation.   
He remembered everything as if it was his past.   
Growing up in homes and institutions, locked away, treated as someone without rights, except for the right to die naturally. Locked away from the world, except when the world needed a few examples as to how well those locked away were treated. No help from anyone, the brilliant young mind trapped in a body that was mostly useless. The attempts to handle the handicap, to get an exo-suit, to live like a human being. And when she was old enough.....   
He shuddered, closing his eyes in pain.   
The violation of her body. It was the worst Rodimus had ever felt. Everything. And the operation to make sure there were no unexpected results. Even now, decades after it had happened, Rodimus wanted nothing more than to go back to Shanygn's homeworld and .... and ... punish those people. How could they do this to someone? How?! His mind screamed in anguish at the memories.   
Rodimus had never felt so intense emotions before. He had been born as a robot and his continued association with very emotional creatures, humans for instance, had broadened his range of sensations perceptibly, but he had never experienced this. Interfacing had confronted him with something new as well, but Shanygn had always had a shield between him and her inner mind, something he had respected and never tried to break. But he had still learned a new variation of emotions and this time he had experienced them as well because of the link. It had been a bit confusing, even amazing, but never as scaring as this latest development. This time he had come in contact with the emotions first hand, no shields between himself and the source. For the first time he had seen what Shanygn had hidden from him for all this this time.   
And she had hid it well; under walls that had been unbreakable, that would never have fallen. She had always been strong and ready to help; she had suffered him! She had supported him, Rodimus cried silently. She had listened to his problems, his worries, advised and calmed him, but he had never known about this dark past, this incredible pain.   
[Why?] he asked in a whisper. [Why wait so long?]   
There was no answer.   
He didn't feel Silhouette touch his arm once and then leave. He didn't see Kyle come in and check on Shanygn again. He was oblivious to the world as such; only the mind world seemed to be real now. Shanygn had come through her nightmares with him, now she only had to do the last step and wake up.

* * *

"Alicia Hunt, daughter of Diana MacKenzie?"   
Ultra Magnus put down the report and stared at Optimus, who returned the gaze seriously, nodding.   
"Lt. Newkirk sent this to me and we confirmed it after Soundwave brought her in. Looks like she thinks we are responsible for everything bad ever happening to her mother, starting with Draft." A humorless glint appeared in Optimus' optics. He had read the whole file, as well as everything else about Alicia Hunt. She was woman out for revenge on those she blamed for the death of her mother, and in a way she was right. Megatron had killed MacKenzie when she had tried to flee from Earth, after she had nearly killed Galvatron, severely hurt Shanygn and tried to kill Rodimus. Optimus couldn't say he approved of how Megatron had handled it at the time -- which had been nearly 18 years ago -- but in a tiny corner of his mind he was chuckling darkly at the thought of MacKenzie receiving what she had always had coming. It wasn't the Autobot way, but Optimus had changed a great deal from his old, more idealistic self. The events of over two decades had changed him more than a nine million years lasting civil war.   
Ultra Magnus now shook his head. "This is unbelievable!"   
"You better believe it. Anyway, she's on her way back to Earth for trials and I believe that if she ever sees the outside world again, it will be either as a very old woman or as a body."   
Ultra Magnus looked sharply at his friend and leader, unaccustomed to such harshness from him. Optimus didn't try to hide the icy emotions. That woman had nearly killed Shanygn and with her Rodimus Prime, and it was still a matter of guessing and hoping when Shanygn would wake. The Matrix was always reminding Optimus just how bad his partner was feeling and what he had seen in the brief time he had been 'stowing away' inside the Interface link, he wished he could do much more than what he could do now, which was regretfully little.   
Optimus returned the look, optics dark and hooded, revealing no other emotion than hatred for this one human. He wouldn't go as far as wanting her dead; he wouldn't follow every detail of her trial. He wanted her sentenced for her crimes and locked away -- forever.   
He forced those thoughts out of his conscious mind. He had a planet to run and a people to lead, so he couldn't let his personal feelings interfere with his actions.   
"Any other reports, Magnus?" he asked, changing the topic.   
Ultra Magnus accepted the change smoothly and handed over some data files. "Cyclonus gave me a report. We can't seem to contain this feeling of revenge, or retaliation, Optimus. Decepticons, as well as Autobots, are starting to get restless. It's only a matter of time until one of them starts his own little revenge scheme against the Tji."   
Optimus nodded. He knew they had to do something about it, but what?   
"Megatron has left for Charr," the commander went on. "We have no idea what he wants there."   
Optimus smiled sadly. He knew it. He knew what Megatron wanted on Charr and he knew that nothing would be able to keep the Decepticon leader from there, but he wouldn't tell Ultra Magnus.   
Since Optimus didn't give him an explanation, Ultra Magnus went on with the daily events, what was coming up and what should be done. Nebulos was an every-growing problem, the Tji had not been sighted in months but where still out there, waiting, licking their wounds, gathering their forces. Fewer robots had disappeared, but lately they were missing part of their last spy team. Wheelie had not returned and Optimus knew he could very well have fallen into Tji hands. It was even most likely.   
The Seekers had rebuilt Mernan and moved there completely, abandoning Skritakaar, hoping it would not be in the line of fire. Skritakaar was not like Nebulos and not even a space faring nation. And it had not been a base for the Seekers but more of a place to go and find some peace. Tornado and Phoenix were frequently going back and forth between Cybertron and Mernan, trying to secure the former prison facility against Tji attacks. The same was happening on Alean. Midnight spent more and more time supervising the reconstruction of their base and defensive systems.   
The Decepticon flag ship had been beyond repair and they had scrapped it, using only those parts still remotely salvagable. A new ship was almost finished, as well as a small fleet of battle cruisers. Dozens of teams were busy with that task.   
Optimus rubbed his optics, walking over to the window overlooking South Port. The war was drawing ever closer and he knew that they were no match against the Tji if there was a full scale attack. Cybertron was protected by Ralyk, the bubble fields and strange weapon arrays, but they would need more than just planetary defenses. If the Tji moved against an unprotected planet, the Cybertronians had no chance to stop them. And then there were the many planets with doorways built by the Creators on them. Each was guarded by a Gatekeeper and his Veneran bodyguards, but they were still in danger of falling under an attack as well. Two doorways had already been destroyed and Optimus hated to lose more.   
"Thanks, Magnus," he said softly. "Leave the files on my desk."   
Ultra Magnus hesitated, then placed the reports on the desk as Optimus had asked him to. He left the office. Optimus continued to stare out of the window, feeling the Matrix inside of him again, pulsing, glowing, sending out waves of energy.

* * *

Shanygn woke to the feeling of an incredible dry mouth, an itchy throat and the wish to empty a large bottle of water. There was a bad taste in her mouth and her tongue felt three times the normal size and like an old mattress. Her body was partly completely numb or aching faintly, her arms too heavy to lift, her fingers apparently tied down by lead weights. Her chest felt tight, as if someone had tied it up. She opened her eyes, squinting, blinking, trying to focus on something. It was hard because her eyes seemed to be clouded and blinking only helped slightly. After some time she had a better focus and as her mind tried to fight off the incredible feeling of tiredness, she also became aware of something in her mind. Shanygn turned her head and her eyes widened.   
Roddy?   


Rodimus sat on the floor, head buried in his arms, his body wracked by tremors from the inside, the empty Matrix space hurting and blazing. He felt so tired, so sick and angry in one, and also weak. His hands clenched into fists again and he shuddered at the now familiar thought, which had haunted him since Shanygn had been shot, of what might happen if he lost her.   
[Hey... what does a girl have to do to get a decent cup of water here?]   
Rodimus head came up, eyes darting over to the bed, widening and gaining in life as he was faced by a pair of blue eyes.   
[Shan....] he whispered weakly.   
A faint smile creased her lips. [The one and only....]   
Her mental voice was weak and tired, but it was present, she was present, and that was all he needed. Rodimus stared at her, as if he saw her for the first time, different emotions battling inside of him.   
[You're ... back] he managed, voice shaky.   
[Yeah...]   
The door opened and Kyle came in, his eyes immediately drawn to Shanygn, who gave him another weak smile.   
"Hello and welcome back," Kyle said, smiling back, looking even more relieved than Roddy, if that was at all possible.   
"Thanks," Shanygn whispered, voice hoarse and very, very faint.   
"Now...let's give you a check..." Kyle glanced at Rodimus, whose blue optics seemed to be fixed on his partner as if by merely looking away for a split second, she might fade again.   
Rodimus looked stronger, even though Shan had just woken. Kyle knew that the Interface link was now slowly reestablishing itself, healing what damage had occurred. Kyle smiled softly and began checking his patient, part of him immensely relieved beyond belief that she had made it.

* * *

Tornado watched his Interface partner as Nicholas went over some of the papers Raoul had sent him. The Seeker leader felt various emotions through the Interface link and most of them were quite confusing. Nicholas was trying to concentrate on the papers, but somehow his mind always wandered off. Tornado had become aware of this some time ago, but he didn't dare to ask or probe directly. It had something to do with Shanygn's near-death and Nicholas' worry about her. Everyone was worried and hoping she would recover soon because her life was so closely connected to Rodimus'. Tornado knew what it meant if Shanygn passed away and it gave him a strange, ill feeling about his only lately established partnership with Nicholas now and then. It had taken him a long time to accept that he and Nicholas had Interfaced, and now this. Then there was the incident with Archer, who had gone insane with the loss of Mike. Tornado hated to think what a severed bond would do to him. It was a risk all the Interfaced robots had to live with, but it was a risk he had never been shown so clearly as in the last half year.   
"Nick?" he now asked softly.   
Nicholas looked up and smiled. "Hiya. Didn't even hear you coming."   
Tornado smiled wryly. No wonder with the emotional waves you are projecting. "Are you all right?" he asked right away, deciding that beating around the bush was not an option.   
Nicholas frowned. "Uh, fine. Why do you ask?"   
Tornado sat down on a chair and looked at his partner. "You are projecting something I can't work with and it's rather unusual. I know you aren't physically sick, but something is wrong," he told Nicholas openly. "I won't lie to you: I'm worried. What is wrong?"   
Nicholas struggled with his shields for a moment, then the feeling Tornado had had faded. He sighed. That had not had the wished-for result.   
"It's kinda private, okay?" Nicholas muttered.   
Tornado gave him a strange look. "Okay," he finally said and rose again, leaving the room.   
But if you want to talk to someone....>> he added and let the sentence hang unfinished.   
Nicholas sighed and shuffled some papers, then decided to leave them alone. He was unable to concentrate on them now. Like everyone else he was deeply worried about Shanygn, but with his worry it was something else. It was more pronounced, more intense, he thought, and he was constantly thinking about her. Nicholas closed his eyes and sighed.   
Suddenly there was a soft beep from his personal com line. He opened his eyes again and switched on the message service. As he read over the message he had just received, his eyes glowed in joy and he jumped off the chair, running down to the elevators to get to the med bay. Shanygn had woken! She had made it! She would live!

* * *

Rodimus had returned to almost normal, his skin taking on a much healthier color and his awareness of his surroundings close to what Optimus would call normal. He was still absent from time to time, mainly because he was checking on Shanygn, who was in a healing tank for her implants. She was in another coma, but none that interfered with the link. Her mind was sleeping, not suffering. She would need extensive recovery time, especially to strengthen her muscles again.   
Rodimus had started to do light work again as well and he was slowly going back to handling everything he had handled before, except maybe the problem of those wanting revenge. Optimus had turned that problem over to Cyclonus completely, who had not been happy, but Raven had promised to help until Rodimus could step in again.   
Right now they were going through some of the regular, usual stuff when Rodimus stopped and seemed to listen to something.   
"Are you okay?" Optimus asked.   
Rodimus nodded. "It was Shan. She came out of the tank and fell asleep." He smiled and Optimus found himself reflecting the smile.   
Prime wondered whether Rodimus knew that he had been privy to what Shanygn had told him or not. He had no idea at all. Maybe Shanygn might remember something, but he wasn't so sure about it either. He had been inside Rodimus and not touched Shanygn by mind. Rodimus hadn't lost a word about the contact and if Optimus hadn't been with him, he'd be as oblivious to what had occurred as everyone else.   
"Good," Optimus now just said. "You want to visit her?"   
"She's asleep...... and I can contact her by mind, Optimus. I'll have a look into med bay after my shift," Rodimus answered with a smile.   
"All right."   
They finished an hour later and Optimus shuffled the papers on his desk after Rodimus had left. The Matrix inside of him had quieted down and he no longer felt it as acutely as before, but the presence was still more pronounced than ever. He set down the files and sighed, his mind as always going back to what he had experienced. What Shanygn had experienced..... Optimus wasn't an emotionless machine, but Cybertronians had a limited range of emotions and humans had a much wider one, a lot wider. Optimus could feel sadness, hope, loss and more. But he had never felt what he had experienced through the link. It had been overwhelming, frightening.....strange. And he wished he hadn't had the 'honor' of being a receiver of those emotions. It had been too much to comprehend and he was still reeling, though he never showed it.   
And Rodimus felt it every time he and Shanygn linked. Optimus shook his head. How had his young second ever come to tolerate it? How could he stand those wider emotions? Then again, Rodimus was young and he adapted to new situations as he went. Prime smiled. It ad always been Rodimus' way, even as Hot Rod -- especially as Hot Rod -- and he had never lost it. That was what made him so special. The Interfacing had given him a new challenge and he had accepted it -- as always. As he always would continue to do.   
Optimus leaned back and smiled faintly. Maybe he should take on that philosophy as well. Adapt as you go. It sounded good, but nine million years of trying to uphold the past had set him into his way. It was very hard to change, though change was exactly what they needed to do. The past was gone, the present was ever-changing and the future was hidden beneath black veils. He steepled his fingers under his chin and swiveled his chair to watch South Port again, a complex that hadn't existed in its current size and importance mere two decades ago. Two decades were a short time for such a long-living being as a Cybertronian. A very short time. But since their association with humans a lot had changed. Humans were short lived, but they lived with an intensity that had first scared Prime. Now he was accustomed to it and it was surprising how much the humans had influenced their thinking. Cybertronians had changed. Whether it was for better or worse he couldn't say, but he hoped that the changes which had occurred and were still happening would insure their survival. Change was necessary to develop and one change had been the return of the Sentinels and their Interfaces. They had freshened up a lot around here.   
Optimus Prime sighed sadly. He had to close the chapter on the past. It could not be brought back. The Golden Age was gone, the second one only just about to start. He remembered what he had been told: this new age was nothing but a shell yet, covering the old scars but not removing them. If they wanted to, they would bring upon a new Golden Age, not just an illusion as it was now. But first they had a war to win.   
And he had to say good-bye.   
Optimus rose from his chair. He was willing to let the past be the past, but one thing was needed to complete this, something he had never wanted to do, afraid of the consequences. He straightened and looked out of the window, his gaze going the direction Aleeta's grave was. He had visited it once and then never again. He had never unearthed her remains, afraid what he might see, what he would remember from then on. He wanted to remember her as she had been, a warm and gentle person, caring and alive. Optimus turned back to his desk, scanning over the work still to be done. He ignored it and left his office. He walked toward the inner yard where he knew he'd find who he was searching for.   
"Hi, Sil," he said   
The female Dinobot looked up, blue eyes warm and gentle.   
"Care to accompany me for a last good-bye?" he asked, his voice calm.   
She rose gracefully from her position, nodding. Optimus knew she had waited for him to come and say this for years. Both left South Port.

* * *

Megatron stood in the ruins on Charr like a silent statue. Dust drifted around broken walls and over missile craters, settling everywhere. Nothing had been left standing, nothing at all. The bodies had been removed and buried, but for Megatron there were bodies everywhere -- still visible, still reminders of his failure. His hands clenched into fists and he growled softly. They had slaughtered everyone on Charr who hadn't been able to flee, and Megatron had fled -- saving those who had still been able to get aboard. All the others he had left behind. They had been their guarantee that the Tji wouldn't destroy the flag ship as it made it's warp gate jump. They had given their lives to save the others. He growled again, walking through the dusty remains.   
Sparks sat on what was left of a low wall. Her emerald eyes reflected sadness as she surveyed the ruins. She had not been with Megatron when he had been driven off his base and it was the first time after the destruction that she was here. The Tji had not returned after their attack, which they had not used to get new body shells but to simply obliterate everything that got into their way. She understood why Megatron had had to return here, a last time, and she had simply accompanied him -- if he wanted to or not. Now she watched him walk slowly toward what was left of the base. Sparks sighed softly and jumped down, following him.   
They would leave soon again, but she had no intention to leave him alone right now. As she trotted after Megatron who had disappeared between the ruins, she heard the sound of a fusion canon being repeatedly fired. She sighed again and shook her head. As she rounded corner she saw Megatron standing not far away, smoke curling out of the business end of his fusion canon. A molten heap told of his target.   
"Feeling better now?" she asked softly.   
He whirled around and his red optics were bright with rage. "I will feel better when the last of the Tji are dead in front of my feet!" he hissed.   
"Ah."   
He glowered at her.   
"You will only achieve this goal," the cat said calmly with just a tad bit of challenge, "if you hold your forces together and keep them level-headed enough not to go out in senseless revenge acts."   
Megatron growled something.   
Sparks sat down on her haunches and tilted her head. "Can we go home now?"   
The Decepticon leader stood silently in the ruins, then nodded slowly. He walked back to the small shuttle and Sparks followed.

* * *

Shanygn was mostly confined to a wheel chair or a bed and she hated every minute of it. She had a lot of people keeping her company and Rodimus was always with her in mind. He didn't leave her alone, she knew, though he wasn't invading in her thoughts or consciousness. He was a silent partner in the back. Still, she hated to sit uselessly around while waiting for her body to heal. It was no fun to be confined like this. As she sat outside Autobot City, relaxing in the spring sun, she heard someone approach and sit down beside her. Shanygn opened her eyes and looked at her visitor. It was Nicholas Cavanaugh.   
"What did you do to get stuck with baby-sitting me?" she asked.   
Nicholas grinned boyishly and when she looked into his eyes she felt a slight blush starting to work its way up her neck. She cursed herself for it.   
"Well, I needed to get some quiet to get stuff signed. So...."   
"So you choose my sunny spot. Nicholas, you are impossible!"   
He grinned and the feeling inside Shanygn returned. "Why, thank you."   
They looked at each other and Shanygn fought the memories of her past. Finally Nicholas coughed and got up. "I'll better get back into my office, though. Uhm, and Tornado wants to go back to Mernan soon. I need to get some things ... uhm ... done. I.... uh ... just wanted to say ... errr... good-bye."   
Shanygn nodded wordlessly and watched him leave. Her emotions were in turmoil and she wondered why she had let him leave, why she hadn't held him back to talk, keep her company. She would have liked it. Suddenly she felt something in her mind.   
[What are you grinning at?] she snapped, slightly irritated by the cheerfulness.   
Rodimus grinned broadly, at least by mind link and she could just imagine how he was smirking while doing whatever he was doing. [You. And Nick]   
[What are you talking about?]   
[Hey, we are Interfaced and your shields are currently a bit leaky, so.... Oh, c'mon, Shan!] he called when she sent dark thoughts at him.   
[There is nothing and there never will be!] she growled.   
Rodimus' cheerfulness took on a slightly worried note. [Why?] he asked. [You can't continue living your life by rules of a long-gone past!]   
[Why not?] she demanded.   
[Because, even if the past is painful, you have a future. A different future. But you have to want it!]   
Shanygn hesitated. [I can't, Roddy] she whispered after some time. [Not now! It's .... too soon]   
[When is the right time, Shanygn, if you keep recoiling from a possible relationship?]   
That was a question she had always asked herself and which she had never been able to answer.   
[I don't know] she said softly. [I don't know....]

* * *

On a space station far outside any space route, far away from any known planet, two robots guarded a dead relic: the heart of the doorway system, a gigantic ring structure. Nothing they had done had reactivated it, nothing they had tried had revealed the whereabouts of the activation sequence. Ralyk was gone, every part of it, and the station would not open up, the doorway remaining closed -- dead.   
Ath'antheia strode through the dark, empty corridor and into the vast, black hall that housed the doorway. He studied the gigantic construction, smiling to himself, though it was impossible to see it while he was in the shell. The shell was unable to express emotions, the optics dead, the face a mask. It had been a long time, a very long time, since he had been here, and it evoked strange emotions inside of him. He needed the activation codes to get control back. If he had the central core of the system, he had victory guaranteed.   
The Tji Supreme Commander stopped at a control cube and brushed his hand over it. It remained dead. He hadn't expected anything else.   
"I know you hid them, Ralyk," he told the empty room. "I know you are watching. And you will soon know that we can't be stopped."   
Nothing around him shifted or moved. He was alone -- at least physically. Ath'antheia smiled darkly. He knew Ralyk was close.   
"I'll find you key codes, old friend," he promised coldly.   
Now something brushed past him and he tried not to flinch back. Ath'antheia had never been very fond of the ancient entity -- it gave him the creeps. Ralyk was much too powerful for his liking.   
-- You can't win -- a voice whispered all around him.   
"Oh, but I will. I surely will."   
-- What you are planning is genocide --   
"It is the termination of an experiment that should not have been allowed to continue!"   
-- It is murder --   
Ath'antheia chuckled. "That's your interpretation. Don't feel too safe, old friend, because we'll find the code keys and then we'll have control."   
-- You won't win --   
The Tji leader grinned. "But we will..... we will."   
The presence was suddenly gone and Ath'antheia smiled broadly. He left the vast doorway chamber.

* * *

Nightmare and Starscream felt it immediately. It was like a shift inside of them, locking down something that didn't belong to their original programming. Starscream shuddered while Nightmare only cocked his head in question. Ralyk had just reached into them to lock the part of the activation code each had, each sharing part of it with their partners again, behind several layers of complicated, ever-shifting fields.   
"What's going on?" Nightmare asked out aloud, addressing Ralyk.   
-- It has begun --   
Starscream frowned. "What?"   
-- The Tji are moving --   
"They've been moving all the time," Starscream objected.   
-- Yes --   
-- Collecting --   
-- Now they are ready --   
Nightmare, if he could have paled, would have done so. "Do the other know?"   
-- Yes --

* * *

Alicia Hunt's features were frozen into a neutral mask as she heard the sentence from the judge. Her body felt cold, chilled, dead. Her mind was feverish bright and reeling. Life sentence. Locked behind bars forever. She   
was lucky they hadn't simply left her somewhere and waited for Megatron to get her, she knew, but life sentence was still hitting her like icy water into the face. Her lawyer had tried to plead for reduced sentence, but she had repeatedly shown that her intention had been to eliminate not only a humanoid but also several Cybertronians. She was very lucky that the planet the female humanoid had come from wasn't demanding her head. And she was twice as lucky that the Cybertronians didn't demand her body, though she knew the Decepticon leader would not hesitate to shoot her if she was ever delivered to the mercy of the Cybertronian government.   
No Autobot had been present throughout the trial, at least personally, but they had had statements from each person or robot involved and the evidence had been smothering her. She was guilty as sin and in the end she had confessed.   
Two guards escorted her out of the room and she numbly left the court room.   
She had failed.

* * *

Rodimus joined his older friend and partner at the edge of the space port, watching the traffic going in and out.   
"I suppose Ralyk told everyone?" he asked quietly.   
Optimus nodded. "Midnight and Tornado have called in, Megatron is returning. I have no idea where Firefall is, but I know she has been informed as well. It has started."   
"I know. Are we ready for it?"   
Optimus gave him a humorless smile. "I don't know, Rodimus, but I really hope so. I'm not afraid for our home as long as Ralyk is here, working those strange defensive systems, but I'm afraid for all the others."   
Rodimus' face darkened. He feared for the other planets as well but there was nothing they could do. The Venerakkin were protecting the doorway planets and the Seekers had moved to protect Mernan. There was nothing else they could do.   
"Me too," he whispered. "Me too....."   


The Moon Base rose over the horizon and reflected the light of the far away sun. Life continued as always for most of the Cybertronians, but many knew that their lives would never be the same again.   



End file.
